;-v 


COUNT    CAVOUR 


A.   DISCOURSE 


ON  THE 


LIFE,    OHAEACTEK,    AS"D    POLICY 


OF 


COUNT    CAVOUR, 


DELIVEEED  IN  THE  HALL  OF  THE   NEW  YORK  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY, 
February  20,  1862. 


BY  VINCENZO  BOTTA,  PH.  D., 

PROFESSOR   OP   ITALIAN   LITERATURE   IN  THE   NEW   YORK  UNIVERSITY,    LATE   MEMBER   OF   THE 
PARLIAMENT,   AND  PROFESSOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY  IN  THE   COLLEGES   OF  SARDINIA. 


Vergine  di  servo  encomio 
E  di  codardo  oltraggio, 
Sorge  or  eommosso  al  subito 
Sparir  di  tan  to  raggio. 

MANZONI. 


NEW  YORK: 

G.    P.  PUTNAM,    532    BROADWAY, 
1862. 


Univ.  library,  UC  Santa  Cruz  1997 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1862, 

BY    VINCENZO    BOTTA, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  for  the 
Southern  District  of  New  York. 


0.   A.   ALVOHD,   PRINTFR. 


DC- 


DISCOURSE. 


WHEN  Pericles  was  called  upon  to  deliver  tlie  funeral 
oration  of  those  who  had  fallen  in  the  first  campaign  of  the 
Peloponnesian  war,  according  to  Thucydides,  he  began  by 
extolling  Athens,  and  having  expatiated  on  her  glories,  her 
institutions,  her  laws,  her  sciences  and  arts,  he  concluded  by 
exclaiming :  "  For  such  a  republic,  for  such  a  country,  the 
.  men  whom  we  mourn  fell  and  died."  In  meeting  to  do 
honor  to  the  memory  of  Cavour,  the  most  illustrious  states- 
man of  our  time,  if  we  were  to  follow  the  example  of  the 
Athenian  orator,  we  could  pay  him  no  higher  tribute  than 
to  dwell  on  the  glories  and  calamities  of  the  country  which 
he  was  destined  to  restore  to  its  nationality. 

Enclosed  by  the  great  boundary  of  the  Alps  on  one  side, 
and  encircled  on  the  others  by  the  sea,  with  an  extensive 
coast  indented  with  innumerable  gulfs  and  bays,  where  the 
navies  of  the  world  might  ride  in  safety,  closely  bordering  on 
Africa,  surrounded  by  a  chain  of  islands,  the  natural  highway 
and  entrepot  of  commerce  between  Eastern  and  Western 
Europe,  Italy  seems  to  have  been  designated  by  the  very 
hand  of  nature  as  the  home  of  a  great  nation.  Her  people, 
the  growth  of  ethnic  varieties,  long  since,  by  the  action  of 
ages,  moulded  into  one  stock,  speak  substantially  the  same 
language,  are  nursed  by  the  same  literature,  and  bound 
together  by  the  same  civilization  and  historical  associations. 
There  is,  perhaps,  no  country  so  strongly  marked  with  the  char- 
acteristics of  a  distinct  individuality,  and  none  whose  indi- 


B7 


4  INTKODUCTOEY. 

viduality  has  been  so  long  and  so  cruelly  violated  and  crashed. 
First  among  the  nations  of  Europe  to  emerge  from  the  bar- 
barism which  succeeded  the  fall  of  the  Koman  empire,  she 
shone  forth  through  the  darkness,  a  lonely  star,  in  the  splen- 
dor of  her  commerce,  literature  and  arts,  but  she  early  be- 
came the  victim  of  domestic  feud  and  the  coveted  prey  of 
foreign  domination.  "While  other  countries,  which  centuries 
later  had  come  forth  from  the  mediaeval  chaos,  were  trans- 
forming themselves  into  national  associations,  their  social 
elements  clustering  around  their  rising  monarchies,  Italy  alone, 
although  endowed  with  a  more  cohesive  force,  remained  in  a 
state  of  complete  disorganization.  The  weakness  of  her  feudal 
lords,  the  number  of  her  municipalities,  their  jealousies,  their 
wealth  and  vitality,  and  above  all,  the  influence  of  the  papacy 
and  the  empire,  combined  to  resist  the  action  of  her  affinities. 
For  more  than  a  thousand  years,  from  the  time  when  Charle- 
magne, in  return  for  the  imperial  crown,  granted  to  the 
Bishop  of  Kome  immunity  from  his  authority,  Italy  has  been 
distracted  by  those  two  powers,  whose  long  and  bloody  con- 
tests made  her  fertile  plains  one  great  battle-field,  and  her 
beautiful  cities  the  scene  of  conspiracy,  tumult  and  civil  war, 
while  their  friendly  alliances  were  no  less  hostile  to  her  na- 
tional existence. 

As  early  as  the  13th  century,  Dante  called  upon  his  coun- 
trymen to  unite  in  the  struggle  for  nationality.  He  seized 
the  crude  elements  of  the  Italian  language  in  the  grasp  of 
his  mighty  genius,  and  moulded  it  into  a  powerful  engine 
of  national  thought.  He  embodied  the  history  and  the  aspi- 
rations of  Italy  in  the  greatest  monument  of  modern  literature, 
made  poetry  the  messenger  of  her  sorrows  and  her  hopes  to 
coming  generations,  and  the  immortal  voice  which  through 
the  centuries  called  her  forth  to  life.  Following  in  his  foot- 
steps, Petrarch,  whose  fame,  as  a  scholar,  made  him  a  power  in 
the  age  in  which  he  lived,  addressed  himself  to  popes,  princes, 
and  republics,  entreated  them  to  come  to  the  rescue  of  the 
Italian  people,  and  hailed  the  short-lived  triumph  of  Eienzi, 


IXTRODUCTOEY.  5 

as  the  dawn  of  that  day,  when  they  were  to  be  united  under 
one  government.  Boccaccio,  and  the  other  tale  writers  of 
the  14th  and  loth  centuries,  strove  to  undermine  the  papal 
authority,  as  one  of  the  great  impediments  to  national  con- 
solidation, and  exposed  to  popular  ridicule,  under  the  garb  of 
fiction,  the  vices  against  which  Dante  and  Petrarch  had  before 
hurled  their  bitterest  invectives.  To  this  end  of  political 
unity  Machiavelli  particularly  directed  his  labors  as  a  writer 
and  as  a  statesman,  and  more  than  once  suffered  imprisonment 
and  torture.  So  with  all  the  great  representatives  of  Italian 
literature,  from  Dante  to  Alfieri,  to  Foscolo,  Leopard!  and 
Niccolini.  The  genius  of  Italy,  taking  its  key-note  from  the 
bard  of  the  Divine  Comedy,  has,  through  more  than  five  hun- 
dred years,  poured  forth  in  lofty  strains  this  perpetual  aspira- 
tion of  the  Italians,  echoing  at  the  same  time  the  mournful 
history  of  their  divisions  and  bondage.  But  the  voice  of  the 
muse  had  no  spell  to  exorcise  the  evil  spirits  which  presided 
over  the  destinies  of  the  nation,  and  equally  powerless  were 
conspiracies,  revolutions,  and  wars. 

After  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  with  the  restoration  of  the  vas- 
sals of  Austria  on  the  thrones  of  the  peninsula,  'the  re-establish- 
ment of  the  Austrian  predominance  and  the  papal  monarchy,  for 
a  short  period  overthrown  by  the  first  Napoleon,  the  chains  of 
Italy  seemed  more  firmly  riveted  than  ever.  But  the  master  mind 
was  soon  to  arise,  which  was  to  mould  her  scattered  members 
into  one  whole,  the  great  architect  was  soon  to  appear,  who 
was  to  rear  them  into  the  sublime  temple  of  national  unity, 
founded  on  the  corner-stone  of  constitutional  liberty.  It  was 
reserved  for  Cavour  to  achieve,  in  a  great  measure,  the  work 
which  the  vain  longings  of  an  enslaved  people  and  the  heroic 
efforts  of  centuries  had  been  unable  to  accomplish.  It  was 
reserved  for  him  to  inaugurate  in  Italy  the  policy  of  self- 
government,  identical  with  that  which  has  given  rise  to  the 
great  republic  of  these  United  States,  to  infuse  new  life  into  the 
country,  which  was  the  source  of  modern  civilization,  whose 
spirit  flows  through  all  modern  society,  as  the  blood  of  the 


6  BIRTH    AND    LINEAGE. 

mother  flows  through  the  veins  of  her  offspring,  and  whose 
name  sends  a  thrill  of  love  and  admiration  through  every 
heart  which  feels  the  power  of  what  is  beautiful  and  sublime. 
It  is  to  the  life  of  Cavour,  as  illustrated  by  his  character  and 
policy,  that  we  now  propose  to  direct  our  attention,  a  character 
and  policy  which,  supported  as  he  was  by  the  enlightened 
patriotism  and  the  heroic  bravery  of  Victor  Emmanuel,  the  gener- 
ous friendship  of  Napoleon  III.,  the  almost  fabulous  achieve- 
ments of  Garibaldi,  the  moderation  and  energy  of  the  Italian 
people,  and  the  sympathy  of  civilized  nations,  led  him  to  ac- 
complish one  of  the  greatest  revolutions  which  history  records. 

CAMILLO  BENSO  DI  CAVOUR  was  born  in  Turin,  on  the 
10th  of  August,  1810,  five  years  before  the  Congress  of 
Vienna  had  concocted  that  conspiracy  against  the  liberties 
of  Italy,  whose  deadly  effects,  within  less  than  half  a  century, 
he  was  destined  to  counteract  by  the  boldness  of  his  genius 
and  the  wisdom  of  his  patriotism.  He  opened  his  eyes  to 
the  light,  therefore,  in  the  very  capital  of  the  kingdom  of 
Sardinia,  upon  which  the  great  mission  of  national  regenera- 
tion was  to  devolve,  and  in  the  meridian  of  the  power  of  the 
first  Napoleon,  in  that  memorable,  although  brief  period  of 
prosperity,  which  the  country  had  attained  under  the  influence 
of  the  French  empire.  He  was  descended  from  the  noble 
family  of  the  Bensi,  whose  origin  dates  back  to  the  12th  cen- 
tury, and  who  having  at  a  later  period  received  the  Marquisate 
of  Cavour,  were  thenceforth  designated  by  that  name.  His  fa- 
ther, the  Marquis  Giuseppe  Michele  Benso  di  Cavour,  was  grand 
chamberlain  of  the  Prince  Borghese,  governor  of  Piedmont, 
then  under  the  sway  of  France,  and  his  mother  held  the  office 
of  lady  in  waiting  to  the  princess,  the  beautiful  Pauline,  sister 
of  the  first  Napoleon.  Camillo  took  his  Christian  name  from 
the  prince,  who,  with  the  princess,  acted  as  sponsor  in  his 
baptism,  and  thus,  ushered  into  the  world  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Bonapartes,  we  shall  see  him,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
years,  welcome,  as  minister  of  Victor  Emmanuel,  the  reappear- 


EARLY   EDUCATION.  7 

ance  of  that  dynasty  on  the  throne  of  France,  and  secure  its 
alliance  to  the  cause  of  Italian  independence. 

The  early  life  of  Cavour,  like  that  of  most  men  who  leave 
their  impression  on  the  history  of  mankind,  was  a  long  and 
painful  struggle,  not  from  the  absence  of  material  prosperity, 
but  from  the  antagonism  in  which  he  found  himself  with  the 
prejudices  of  his  time  and  the  wretched  condition  of  his 
country.  It  was  in  this  crucible  that  his  vigorous  and  in- 
flexible nature  was  moulded,  the  breadth  and  the  boldness 
of  his  character  developed,  and  his  individuality  wrought  out 
into  its  striking  relief.  His  education  began  at  that  period 
when  the  restoration  had  brought  back  to  Italy  the  old  dy- 
nasties, with  the  petty  and  bigoted  despotisms  of  the  preceding 
age.  Under  the  rule  of  the  first  Napoleon,  important  changes 
had  been  effected  in  Italy ;  feudal  institutions  had  been  swept 
away,  civil  and  religious  liberty  introduced,  and  the  latent 
power  of  the  people  roused  to  take  part  in  the  race  of  Euro- 
pean progress.  The  former  divisions  of  the  territory,  too,  had 
almost  entirely  disappeared,  or  become  merged  into  a  sort  of 
political  individuality,  based  on  the  unity  of  legislation  and  ad- 
ministration, and  on  a  thorough  military  organization.  But  now 
the  country,  again  rent  asunder  and  forced  back  under  the 
double  yoke  of  aristocratic  and  ecclesiastical  authority,  was 
again  firmly  chained  to  the  thrones  of  Vienna  and  Eome. 

No  avenues  to  advancement  but  those  of  the  army  and 
the  church  being  open,  Caraillo,  like  most  of  the  young 
men  of  rank,  was  early  sent  to  the  Military  Academy  of 
Turin,  for  his  education.  He  soon  gave  evidence  of  his  pre- 
cocious capacities,  and  when  only  ten  years  old  was  ap- 
pointed a  page  to  Charles  Albert,  then  presumptive  heir  to 
the  crown  of  Sardinia.  This  prince  was  at  that  time  looked 
upon  as  the  chief  of  the  liberal  party,  and  the  appointment 
of  the  little  Cavour  was  considered  an  act  of  opposition  to 
the  court,  which  regarded  his  family  with  marked  coldness, 
on  account  of  their  former  connection ^  with  the  Bonapartes. 
The  livery  of  the  page,  however,  was  ill  suited  to  the  instinc- 


A    PRESENTIMENT. 

live  independence  which  characterized  him  from  his  childhood, 
and  he  was  soon  discharged  from  his  office,  highly  delighted  "  in 
having,"  as  he  expressed  it,  "  thrown  off  his  pack-saddle."  He 
returned  therefore  to  his  studies  at  the  Academy ;  but,  owing 
to  the  prevailing  methods  of  teaching,  more  calculated  to  dis- 
gust than  to  attract,  he  seems  to  have  paid  little  attention  to 
his  lessons,  and  manifesting  an  equal  distaste  for  boyish  amuse- 
ments, he  spent  his  time  in  reading  history  and  political  trea- 
tises. But  toward  the  close  of  the  terms,  he  would  put  aside 
his  favorite  books,  and  in  a  few  days  prepare  himself  for  the 
examinations,  which  he  passed  with  such  distinction,  that  at  the 
age  of  sixteen  he  received  his  commission,  and  entered  the 
army  at  eighteen,  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant  in  the  royal 
engineers.  He  was  early  employed  in  this  capacity  in  import- 
ant surveys  and  fortifications  on  the  Apennines  and  the  Alps, 
and  in  1831  we  find  him  engaged  in  similar  works  at  Genoa. 
While  in  that  city,  having  expressed  himself  with  some  freedom 
on  political  affairs,  and  his  words  being  reported  to  the  court, 
he  was  ordered  for  a  year  to  the  Fort  of  Bard,  in  the  Valle  di 
Aosta.  On  his  release  he  resigned  his  commission.  His  char- 
acter was  no  better  fitted  for  the  position  of  a  military  officer 
than  for  that  of  a  page.  The  submission,  silence  and  passive 
obedience  required  by  military  discipline,  were  not  among  his 
prominent  qualities.  Quick  to  discover 'the  weakness  and 
follies  of  those  about  him,  unsparing  in  his  trenchant  wit  and 
irony,  proud  and  self-reliant,  he  was  not  born  to  obey,  but  to 
command. 

Having  thus  freed  himself  from  the  trammels  of  his  position, 
although  with  much  opposition  on  the  part  of  his  father,  Ca- 
vour  now  turned  his  whole  attention  to  the  political  and  social 
questions  of  the  day,  and  began  to  prepare  himself  for  that 
career  of  which,  with  the  prescience  of  true  genius,  he  had  already 
some  presentiment.  In  a  letter  written  to  a  friend,  who  had 
condoled  with  him  on  his  disgrace  at  the  court,  when  only 
twenty-two  years  old,  at  the  time  when  the  prospects  of  Italy 
were  little  calculated  to  inspire  hope,  he  expressed  himself  in 


EAELY   PATBIOTISM.  9 

the  following  remarkable  words  :  "  I  thank  yon  for  the  interest 
you  take  in  my  misfortune  ;  but,  believe  me,  I  shall  still  accom- 
plish my  career  in  despite  of  it.  I  am  a  very,  an  enor- 
mously ambitious  man,  and  when  I  am  minister  I  shall  justify 
my  ambition  ;  for  I  tell  you,  in  my  dreams  I  already  see  my- 
self minister  of  the  kingdom  of  Italy."  In  this  intuitive  belief 
that  he  was  destined  to  play  an  important  part  in  the  future  of 
his  country,  he  now  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  political 
science,  and  particularly  of  political  economy,  in  which  he 
took  for  his  guide  the  writers  of  the  great  school  founded  by 
Adam  Smith.  He  gathered  from  France  and  England  books, 
reports,  and  other  documents  relating  to  finance,  commerce  and 
agriculture,  and  by  untiring  industry  put  scientific  theories  to 
the  test  of  practical  results. 

Cavour  watched  with  intense  feeling  the  events  of  the  French 
Eevolution  in  1830,  the  free  trade  and  the  reform  agitation  in 
England,  in  the  hope  that  the  progress  which  appeared  to  be  in 
store  for  other  nations,  would  be  an  omen  of  good  for  his  coun- 
trymen. His  letters  of  this  time  express  his  deep  anxiety  in  be- 
half of  Italy,  and  prove  that  his  love  for  his  country  was  of  no 
late  growth.  "While  all  Europe,"  writes  he,  as  early  as  Decem- 
ber, 1829,  to  an^  English  friend,  "is  walking  with  a  firm  step  in 
the  path  of  progress,  unhappy  Italy  is  always  borne  down  under 
the  same  system  of  civil  and  religious  tyranny.  Pity  those  who, 
with  souls  made  to  develop  the  generous  principles  of  civiliza- 
tion, are  compelled  to  see  their  country  brutalized  by  Austrian 
bayonets.  Tell  your  countrymen,  that  we  are  not  undeserving 
of  liberty,  that  if  we  have  rotten  members,  we  have  also  men 
who  are  worthy  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  light.  Forgive  me  if 
I  wander,  but  my  soul  is  weighed  down  under  the  burden  of 
indignation  and  of  sorrow,  and  I  feel  a  very  sweet  relief  in  thus 
opening  myself  to  one  who  knows  the  causes  of  my  grief,  and 
surely  sympathizes  with  them."  And  in  another  letter  of  July 
1832,  he  continues  to  mourn  the  fate  of  his  country  as  follows  : 
"  Pressed  on  one  side  by  Austrian  bayonets,  on  the  other  by 
the  furious  excommunications  of  the  pope,  our  condition  is  truly 


10  INWARD    STRUGGLE. 

deplorable.  Every  free  exercise  of  thought,  every  generous  sen- 
timent is  stifled,  as  if  it  were  a  sacrilege  or  a  crime  against  the 
State.  We  cannot  hope  to  obtain  by  ourselves  any  relief  from 
such  enormous  misfortunes.  The  destiny  of  my  countrymen, 
of  the  Romagna  especially,  is  truly  deplorable,  and  the  steps 
which  have  been  taken  by  the  mediating  powers,  have  only 
made  it  worse.  The  intervention  of  France  is  not  even  suf- 
ficient to  exact  the  smallest  reasonable  concession  from  the 
pope.  The  voice  of  England  alone,  if  raised  in  a  firm  and 
positive  tone,  can  obtain  for  the  people  a  supportable  govern- 
ment, somewhat  in  harmony  with  the  ideas  and  manners  of  our 


age." 


On  the7  accession  of  Charles  Albert,  the  father  of  Cavour  was 
appointed  Vicario  of  Turin — a  high  office,  which  involved  the 
charge  of  the  police  and  the  duty  of  watching  the  liberal 
party,  and  reporting  its  movements  directly  to  the  king.  The 
marquis  thus  becoming  the  instrument  of  a  petty  and  mistrust- 
ful government,  although  an  amiable  man  in  his  private  rela- 
tions, brought  upon  himself  a  vast  amount  of  popular  odium, 
which  extended  to  his  family.  Cavour  himself  was  regarded 
with  suspicion  by  the  aristocratic  class  for  his  liberal  views,  and 
by  the  popular  party  for  his  aristocratic  connections.  Those 
only,  whose  lot  it  has  been  to  drink  silently  drop  by  drop  the 
bitter  cup  of  moral  constraint,  whose  hearts  have  been  devoured 
by  the  slow  fire  of  inward  struggle,  can  measure  the  intensity 
of  suffering  to  which  his  extremely  sensitive  nature  must  have 
been  subjected  by  his  early  associations.  Eager  for  distinction 
and  power,  yet  obliged  to  endure  the  suspicions  of  all  parties, 
attached  by  filial  affection  to  him  who  was  the  principal  in- 
strument of  the  bigotry  and  the  meanness  of  the  government, 
he  was  forced  to  sacrifice  on  the  altar  of  his  penates  the  noblest 
aspirations  of  his  youth.  But  let  the  old  Vicario  hunt  down 
the  friends  of  liberty,  and  slip  his  hordes  to  crush  out  every  hope 
of  freedom ;  under  his  own  roof,  born  of  his  own  flesh,  a  youth 
is  fast  approaching  manhood,  who  shall  soon  scatter  to  the 
winds  the  engines  of  despotism,  and,  towering  in  moral 


THE   ENGLISH   CONSTITUTION.  11 

stature  far  above  all  factions,  open  the  pathway  to  the  emanci- 
pation of  his  country.  Millions,  from  Alps  to  ^Etna,  shall  hail 
him  as  their  leader,  and  follow  him  onward  to  the  conquest  of 
national  liberty. 

In  1833,  Cavour  travelled  over  various  portions  of  the  penin- 
sula, and  by  actual  observation  made  himself  acquainted  with 
its  political  and  social  condition.  Even  then  it  would  seem 
that  the  Austrian  authorities  had  a  presentiment  of  the  part 
which  he  was  to  play  in  the  future  of  Italy,  as  an  order  was 
issued  from  the  head-quarters  of  the  police,  to  subject  him  to 
the  most  rigorous  investigations  on  his  entrance  into  Lombardy  ; 
"as  there  is  reason,"  said  the  order,  "to  suspect  that  he  may 
be  the  bearer  of  dangerous  documents :  for  in  spite  of  his  youth 
he  is  already  deeply  corrupted  in  his  political  principles."  In 
1835,  he  visited  Switzerland,  the  birthplace  of  his  mother,  and 
the  residence  of  several  of  his  relatives ;  and  the  intercourse 
which  he  ever  after  continued  to  hold  with  that  republic,  doubt- 
less contributed  to  nurture  his  instinctive  love  of  freedom.  He 
left  Geneva  for  Paris,  from  thence  he  passed  over  to  England,  a 
nation  for  which  he  expressed  "  that  esteem  and  interest  due  to 
one  of  the  greatest  people  that  has  done  honor  to  the  human 
race,  a  nation  that  has  continually  promoted  the  moral  and 
material  progress  of  the  world,  and  whose  civilizing  mission  is 
yet  far  from  having  reached  its  term." 

Cavour  regarded  the  English  constitution  with  great  admira- 
tion. He  studied  it  thoroughly,  and  drew  from  it  those  broad 
principles  of  liberty,  which  characterize  the  Anglo-Saxon  system 
of  government,  whether  under  the  republican  or  monarchical 
form  ;  principles  which  make  the  defence  of  individual  rights  the 
basis  and  the  object  of  civil  authority,  and  all  interference  of  the 
State  not  demanded  by  the  exigencies  of  social  co-existence,  an  act 
of  usurpation ;  which  limit  the  action  of  the  law  to  the  security 
of  the  citizen,  and  lessening  the  power  of  the  government  en- 
large the  sphere  of  personal  activity.  He  admired  the  robust 
individuality,  the  self-government,  the  personal  independence 
arid  the  self-reliance  by  which  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  is  so  dis- 


12  STUDIES   ABROAD. 

tinguislied,  and  that  liberal  spirit  which  has  culminated  in  the 
electoral  reform,  the  repeal  of  the  corn-laws  and  the  Catholic 
emancipation.  That  spirit  which  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  the 
Mayflower,  expanded  into  higher  perfection  in  these  United 
States,  and  is  at  the  present  moment  asserting  itself  more  tri- 
umphantly than  ever  against  the  wanton  attacks  of  its  antag- 
onist, which  in  the  light  of  the  19th  century,  would  perpetuate 
the  reign  of  an  oligarchy  founded  on  human  slavery. 

But  while  the  institutions  of  England  and  the  United  States 
are  established  on  the  principle  of  self-government,  the  nations 
of  the  European  continent  are  organized  on  quite  the  opposite 
idea,  the  Supremacy  of  the  State  over  the  citizen.  There  man 
is  not  free  by  nature,  but  receives  his  rights  from  law ;  there, 
whether  in  the  monarchy  of  Louis  XIV.,  in  the  schemes  of 
Louis  Blanc,  or  in  those  of  Cabet,  the  State  is  the  organizer  of 
society,  and  the  dispenser  of  liberty ;  there  central  authority  as- 
sumes the  responsibilities  of  the  citizen,  renders  him,  soul  and 
body,  dependent,  absorbs  municipal  and  provincial  life,  and  be- 
comes intolerant,  monopolizing,  and  despotic.  Crushed  by  the 
powerful  machinery  of  the  administration,  the  immortal  senti- 
ment of  liberty  must  thus  forever  struggle,  revolution  must  be 
a  permanent  condition,  and  the  people  continually  vibrate  be- 
tween despotism  and  anarchy. 

These  two  systems,  in  their  nature  and  bearing,  Cavour  well 
understood,  and  his  cordial  devotion  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  idea  of 
liberty  inaugurated  a  new  era  in  the  policy  of  Europe.  He 
was  probably  the  first  statesman  of  the  continental  nations 
who  fully  and  practically  appreciated  the  value  of  self-govern- 
ment ;  an  appreciation  which  was  the  result  of  the  comprehen- 
siveness and  independence  of  his  mind,  as  well  as  of  his  exten- 
sive observation.  During  his  residence  in  England,  amidst  the 

O  C  / 

enjoyments  of  society,  for  which  his  connections,  fortune  and 
temperament  afforded  him  every  facility,  he  devoted  himself  to 
an  earnest  study  of  the  working  of  the  English  constitution. 
He  examined  its  effects  on  the  social  and  commercial  condition 
of  the  people,  its  influence  on  the  production  and  distribution  of 


EAELY   WETTINGS.  13 

wealth,  commerce,  private  associations,  mechanical  inventions, 
improvements  in  manufactures  and  husbandry,  charity  schools 
and  other  benevolent  institutions.  At  the  same  time  he  made 
himself  master  of  the  machinery  of  constitutional  government, 
and  acquainted  with  the  rules  of  parliamentary  proceedings. 
He  was  directed  in  this  work  of  self-training  by  several  promi- 
nent men  of  that  country,  and  particularly  by  Mr.  "W.  Broker- 
don,  with  whom  he  had  early  contracted  friendly  relations,  and 
whose  varied  talents  as  a  mechanic,  as  a  scholar  and  as  an  artist, 
peculiarly  fitted  him  to  guide  the  Italian  student  in  his  re- 
searches. 

Cavour's  admiration  for  England  and  her  institutions,  however, 
was  by  no  means  blind  and  undiscriminating ;  while  he  accepted 
in  all  its  breadth  the  great  principle  of  constitutional  liberty, 
and  properly  estimated  the  practical  tendencies  of  the  English 
people,  he  was  unreserved  in  denouncing  the  English  aristocracy 
for  their  neglect  of  the  intellectual  and  moral  requirements  of 
the  laboring  classes,  and  he  carefully  excluded  from  the  legis- 
lation of  his  country  those  features  of  the  English  law  not 
strictly  in  accordance  with  the  Italian  character  and  the  civili- 
zation of  the  present  age. 

In  1842,  after  an  absence  of  several  years,  Cavour  returned 
to  Italy.  He  soon  published  various  essays,  both  in  Italian 
and  French,  remarkable  for  their  comprehensive  and  liberal 
views.  Among  them  that  on  "  the  State  and  Prospects  of 
Ireland,"  received  unqualified  praise  in  England.  He  had 
visited  that  country,  when  the  repeal  agitation  was  at  its 
height,  and  while  he  discouraged  that  movement,  as  utterly 
impracticable,  he  suggested  many  measures  of  redress  for  the 
grievances  of  the  people,  some  of  which  have  since  been 
adopted.  In  that  paper  he  bestows  a  well  deserved  eulogy  on 
England,  and  in  a  masterly  sketch  of  "William  Pitt,  he  shows 
a  remarkable  appreciation  of  the  circumstances  which  led  that 
statesman  to  pursue  a  line  of  policy  which  has  been  universally 
condemned.  In  his  essay  on  "Communism"  Cavour  reduces 
its  various  questions  to  the  problem  :  What  is  the  rational 


14  EARLY   WRITINGS. 

principle  to  adopt  in  cases  of  conflict  between  the  right  of 
property,  on  which  all  social  order  depends,  and  the  right  of 
self-preservation  and  labor,  which  cannot  be  refused  to  any 
living  man  ?  Showing  that  these  two  rights  have  no  absolute 
but  only  a  relative  worth,  on  one  side  he  denounces  commu- 
nistic doctrines,  as  destructive  of  all  individual  liberty,  as 
well  as  of  all  social  organization,  on  the  other  he  urges  the 
wealthy  classes  to  co-operate,  by  an  enlightened  benevolence, 
with  the  economists  and  philosophers,  in  lessening  the  evils 
arising  from  the  unequal  distribution  of  wealth.  A  high  phi- 
losophical tone,  a  nice  discrimination,  logical  deduction,  and 
an  earnest  desire  for  the  improvement  of  the  people,  are  the 
principal  characteristics  of  this  treatise. 

His  essay  on  "  Italian  Railroads''  is  remarkable  for  its  technical 
merits  and  the  national  point  of  view  from  which  the  subject  is 
treated.  Having  indicated  the  most  important  lines  for  uniting 
the  peninsula,  as  one  condition  of  its  independence,  he  concludes 
as  follows  :  "  Then  railroads  will  stretch  without  interruption 
from  the  Alps  to  Sicily,  and  will  cause  all  the  obstacles  and 
distances  to  disappear  which  separate  the  Italian  people,  and 
prevent  them  from  forming  a  great  and  single  nation."  A  few 
years  later,  when  Italy  entered  upon  the  struggle  for  nation- 
ality, Cavour  had  the  opportunity  of  carrying  out  his  designs 
in  this  branch  of  the  administration,  and  before  his  death  the 
contracts  were  signed  for  the  construction  of  numerous  lines, 
which  will  soon  embrace  the  whole  country  in  their  iron  arms. 
In  another  essay  on  "  the  Influence  of  Commercial  Reform  in 
England  on  the  Economical  Condition  of  Italy,'.'  he  shows  the 
connection  between  political  and  economical  advancement, 
urges  the  introduction  of  free  institutions  as  a  necessary  con- 
dition for  the  commercial  and  industrial  progress  of  the  coun- 
try, and  expresses  his  unshaken  faith  in  the  talent,  activity, 
and  energy  of  the  Italians,  "  which  rendered  their  ancestors  illus- 
trious and  powerful  in  the  middle  ages,  when  the  Florentine  and 
Lombard  manufactures  and  the  Genoese  and  Venetian  fleets 
had  no  rivals  in  Europe,"  and  which,  if  freed  from  the  tram- 


OCCUPATIONS.  15 

mels  of  protectionism,  would  again  raise  Italy  "to  the  first  rank 
among  the  commercial  nations  of  the  world."  He  recom- 
mends, at  the  same  time,  the  establishment  of  institutions  of 
credit,  scientific  schools,  and  industrial  associations,  as  the 
means  of  a  rapid  development  for  the  various  branches  of 
industry,  so  wonderfully  suited  to  the  peculiarities  of  the  soil, 
and  insists  on  the  duty  of  society  to  promote  the  material 
and  moral  welfare  of  the  working  classes,  "who  contribute 
most  directly  to  the  production  of  public  wealth,"  which  he 
declares,  "ceases  to  be  a  real  benefit  to  the  country,  unless 
the  laborer  derives  an  advantage  from  that  increase."  "  Let  us," 
he  concludes,  "develop  those  benevolent  institutions,  which 
are  the  honor  of  our  past  and  present  history,  subjecting  them 
to  those  scientific  laws,  the  observance  of  which  is  essential  in 
order  to  render  institutions  designed  for  the  relief  of  human 
misery  of  real  use  and  efficacy.  Let  us  labor  to  enable  our 
fellow-citizens,  rich  and  poor,  and  the  poor  even  more  than 
the  rich,  to  participate  in  the  benefits  of  civil  progress,  and  the 
increase  of  wealth.  By  so  doing  we  shall  solve  peacefully, 
and  like  Christian  men,  the  great  social  problem  which  others 
seek  to  solve  by  tremendous  convulsions  and  awful  disasters." 

The  years  which  intervened  between  his  return  home  and 
the  national  revival  of  1847,  Cavour  devoted  to  political  re- 
searches, the  improvement  of  his  estates,  and  to  all  public 
and  private  enterprises  calculated  to  promote  the  moral  and 
material  progress  of  the  country.  The  establishment  of  in- 
fant asylums  in  Turin  particularly  engaged  his  attention,  and 
he  was  early  elected  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors. 
But  his  interest  in  these  institutions  was  regarded  with  so 
much  jealousy  by  the  court,  that  he  was  soon  requested  to 
resign  his  place,  and  to  withdraw  his  name  from  the  books  of 
the  association — a  step  which  indicated  at  once  his  growing 
power  and  the  weakness  of  the  government.  He  was  also  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  Agricultural  Society  of  the  State,  through 
the  papers  of  which  he  laid  before  his  countrymen  his  enlarged 
and  liberal  views  on  trade  and  industry.  The  discussions  on 


16  MAZZIXI. 

these  topics  led  to  others,  involving  still  higher  interests,  and 
prepared  the  people  for  the  political  changes  which  were  soon 
to  follow. 

We  now  reach  the  year  1847,  when  Italy  seemed  'at  last  to 
awake  to  the  consciousness  of  a  new  life.  Although  the 
national  spirit  since  1815  had  been  stifled,  and  almost  extin- 
guished, it  had  more  than  once  burst  forth  in  a  fitful  flame, 
too  soon,  however,  to  be  again  subdued  and  smothered.  In 
1831,  a  new  apostle  had  appeared,  who,  burning  with  enthu- 
siasm for  liberty,  had  relighted  the  dying  spark  of  nationality. 
Mazzini,  from  his  exile,  had  continued  for  more  than  fifteen 
years  to  fan  with  unceasing  activity  the  fire  of  patriotism  in 
the  hearts  of  his  countrymen,  to  incite  them  to  boldly 
throw  off  not  only  the  yoke  of  foreign  domination,  but  to 
cast  aside  every  vestige  of  monarchical  institutions,  and  to 
seek  their  national  unity  in  one  great  republic.  Fixed  in  this 
idea,  he  had  subordinated  the  cause  of  independence  to  the 
introduction  of  republican  government,  as  the  only  means 
adapted  to  sweep  away  the  obstacles  to  the  reconstruction  of 
Italy,  as  a  nation.  The  rulers  of  the  country,  wholly  identified 
with  the  interests  of  the  house  of  Hapsburg,  had  left  to  him 
no  choice  between  national  independence  and  their  des- 
potic sway,  and  from  the  beginning  he  had  frowned  on  all 
compromises  with  the  thrones  of  the  peninsula,  and  directed 
his  efforts  to  their  overthrow.  Proceeding,  however,  upon  an 
imaginary  estimate  of  the  strength  of  the  country,  ignoring 
the  actual  condition  of  human  nature,  and  the  exigencies  of 
European  policy,  commanding  but  limited  means,  entirely 
disproportioned  to  his  object,  and  led  on  by  his  instinct, 
the  bold  conspirator  was  destined  to  exhaust  his  party  in  a 
series  of  attempts,  which,  though  protests  against  despotism, 
were  little  calculated  to  produce  those  national  results  to 
which  his  life  was  devoted. 

Cavour  regarded  the  projects  of  Mazzini  as  utterly  powerless 
to  lighten  the  burden  of  domestic  rule  and  to  emancipate  the 
country  from  foreign  domination.  A  practical  man  by  nature, 


A   NEW   PARTY.  17 

and  a  statesman  of  the  school  which  acknowledges  Machiavelli 
as  its  founder,  and  Richelieu  and  Burke  as  its  great  representa- 
tives, his  policy  was  not  engendered  in  the  secret  chambers  of 
conspiracy,  but  was  moulded  on  a  comprehensive  knowledge 
of  the  forces  which  patriotism  could  command,  and  on  the  just 
appreciation  of  the  necessity  of  the  time.  Accordingly  he 
believed  that  the  conquest  of  nationality  could  only  be  effected 
through  the  harmonizing  of  many  antagonistic  interests,  and 
the  combination  of  many  clashing  tendencies,  the  control  of 
which  depended  entirely  on  slow,  patient,  and  steady  action. 
From  the  first  appearance  of  Mazzini,  he  had  not  only  refused 
to  take  any  part  in  his  futile  and  spasmodic  efforts,  but  he  had 
unreservedly  discouraged  and  condemned  his  policy,  as  anti- 
national,  and  big  with  calamities.  Regarding  the  growth  of 
public  sentiment  as  the  true  regenerative  force,  he  now  hailed 
with  delight  the  favor  with  which  the  more  conservative  views 
of  Cesare  Balbo,  Massimo  d'Azeglio,  and  Yincenzo  Gioberti 
were  received. 

These  writers,  however  discordant  in  minor  points,  all  agreed 
in  urging  upon  their  countrymen  the  necessity  of  radically 
changing  the  method  of  revolutionary  action,  of  doing  away 
with  all  secret  conspiracies,  and  of  openly  laboring  for  the 
attainment  of  national  independence.  They  strove  to  enlist 
in  the  cause  the  interest  and  ambition  of  the  Italian  princes, 
and  insisted  on  the  possibility  of  a  compact  between  them  and 
the  States,  by  which  the  rulers  were  to  grant  concessions  cal- 
culated to  infuse  new  life  into  the  country,  and  the  people  to 
extend  to  them  the  tenure  of  their  power.  Had  the  princes 
followed  that  course,  they  would  have  been  thrown  into  the 
onward  current,  and,  soon  separated  from  Austria,  they  would 
have  been  forced  into  a  confederation  in  order  to  protect  them- 
selves from  the  common  enemy,  who,  sooner  or  later,  would 
have  been  expelled  from  the  peninsula.  So  while  Mazzini 
struggled  for  nationality,  by  attempting  to  establish  a  republic — 
an  enterprise  rendered  impossible  by  the  condition  of  Europe 
and  Italy  herself — the  chiefs  of  the  new  party  proposed  to  ac- 


18  GIOBERTI. 

complish   the   same   object  through   the   existing    monarchy, 
renovated,  however,  by  constitutional  liberty. 

Prominent  among  those  leaders  was  Giobcrti.  A  man  of 
lofty  patriotism  and  saintly  character,  a  philosophical  writer 
of  great  renown,  distinguished  by  depth,  breadth,  and  novelty 
of  thought,  as  well  as  by  brilliancy  of  style,  his  influence  was 
powerful  and  salutary.  Considering  the  papal  and  the  Aus- 
trian governments  as  the  two  main  stumbling-blocks  to  Italian 
independence,  in  his  works  he  aimed  at  the  overthrow  of  both. 
The  papacy  he  did  not  directly  attack,  as  his  predecessors  in 
philosophy  had  done,  but  he  attempted  to  flank  and  turn 
it  into  the  service  of  the  nation.  He  sketched  an  Ideal, 
youthful  and  vigorous,  which  he  endeavored  to  assimilate  to 
the  old  and  worn-out  institution  of  the  Vatican,  and  to  place 
at  the  head  of  the  Italian  movement.  The  appearance  of 
Pius  IX.  in  the  garb  of  a  reformer,  seemed  for  a  moment  to 
reduce  his  theory  to  fact,  though  in  reality  it  rendered  the 
discrepancies  and  incongruities  between  the  ideal  and  the  real 
papacy  more  conspicuous  and  irreconcilable.  Could  we  lose 
sight  of  the  earnestness  and  sincerity  of  Gioberti's  character, 
it  would  appear  that  in  describing  the  papal  power  as  the  great 
regenerating  agency  of  our  age,  he  intended  rather  to  satirize 
than  to  defend  its  pretensions,  and  that  he  aimed  to  effect  by 
praise  what  its  professed  opponents  strove  to  accomplish  by 
open  attack.  Thus  only  could  we  explain  the  contradictions 
exhibited  in  his  life  and  works,  and  understand  how,  an  ardent 
professor  of  the  papal  faith,  he  could  undermine  its  foundation 
bys  ubstituting  private  judgment  for  submissive  belief;  how, 
an  extravagant  eulogist  of  the  church,  he  could  be  an  unre- 
lenting censor  of  its  institutions  and  laws,  and  particularly  a 
stem  denouncer  of  the  Jesuits,  the  acknowledged  exponents  of 
its  doctrine ;  how,  finally,  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  the  papal 
hierarchy,  he  could  abandon  the  papal  priesthood  as  a  calling- 
inconsistent  with  his  independence  as  a  philosopher,  as  well  as 
with  his  duties  as  a  citizen.  It  is  only  by  regarding  his  philos- 
ophy in  reference  to  his  political  objects,  that  we  are  able  to  do 


IL   RISORGIMEKTO.  19 

it  full  justice  ;  for  when  Pius  IX.  abandoned  the  Italian  cause, 
which  as  pope  he  could  not  consistently  support,  Grioberti, 
leaving  at  once  the  papacy  to  its  own  destiny,  sought  other 
more  substantial  -bases  for  national  existence,  and  pointed  out 
the  house  of  Savoy  as  the  only  hope  of  Italy.  lie  accordingly, 
as  early  as  1851,  in  his  last  and  best  work  :  "II  Einnovamento 
civile  d'ltalia,"  established  on  scientific  grounds  the  national 
hegemony  of  Sardinia,  and  showed  the  necessity  of  the  French 
alliance,  and  the  consolidation  of  the  whole  nation  under  the 
sceptre  of  Victor  Emmanuel,  foreshadowing  the  glorious  events, 
whose  consummation,  alas !  he  was  not  destined  to  behold. 
Whatever,  therefore,  may  be  the  philosophical  value  of  Gio- 
berti's  opinions,  his  political  services  undoubtedly  paved  the 
way  to  the  bold  and  brilliant  career  of  Cavour. 

The  project  of  an  Italian  confederacy,  under  the  nominal 
presidency  of  the  pope,  and  the  actual  leadership  of  Sardinia 
being  the  only  form  of  national  existence  which  at  that  time 
appeared  practicable,  was  accepted  by  Cavour,  and  he  shaped 
his  policy  accordingly,  giving,  however,  but  little  importance 
to  the  papal  element.  When  the  censorship  of  the  press  was 
somewhat  relaxed,  he  established  in  Turin,  in  connection  with 
Cesare  Balbo  and  others,  the  "  Kisorgimento,"  a  daily  paper  of 
which  he  became  the  chief  editor,  and  which,  owing  to  his 
skilful  management,  exerted  a  great  influence  on  the  course  of 
events.  In  this  paper  he  advocated  the  independence  of  Italy, 
union  between  the  princes  and  people,  progressive  reform,  and 
a  confederation  of  the  Italian  States ;  he  developed,  also,  those 
more  general  principles  of  free  government  which  he  afterward 
carried  out  in  his  administration.  In  accordance  with  the  same 
principles,  he  also  signed  about  this  time  a  petition  to  Ferdinand 
of  Naples,  imploring  him  to  second  the  progressive  movement, 
little  thinking  that  the  events  of  the  next  few  years  would 
place  at  his  disposal  the  crown  of  the  descendant  of  that  mis- 
creant king. 

In  the  beginning  of  1848  Cavour  took  the  still  more  import- 
ant step  of  demanding  from  Charles  Albert  a  constitution  for 


20  A   CONSTITUTION   DEMANDED. 

his  native  State,  till  then  under  absolute  sway.  A  deputation 
from  Genoa  had  come  to  Turin  to  urge  upon  the  king  the  ex- 
pulsion of  the  Jesuits,  and  the  organization  of  the  national 
militia ;  and  the  chief  editors,  aware  of  the  dangers  with  which 
that  agitation  was  fraught,  met  together  for  the  purpose  of  com- 
bining their  action  in  support  of  that  demand.  Cavour  took 
no  part  in  the  proceedings  until  the  assembly  was  called  to  de- 
cide upon  the  course  of  their  future  action;  when,  coming 
boldly  to  the  point,  he  said :  "  Why  should  wre  ask  in  this 
roundabout  way  for  paltry  reforms  which  will  end  in  little  or 
no  good  ?  Let  us  at  once  petition  the  king  to  grant  us  the 
benefit  of  free  discussion,  in  which  the  opinions,  the  interests, 
and  the  wants  of  the  people  may  be  represented.  Let  us  de- 
mand a  constitutional  charter."  The  boldness  of  this  motion  was 
the  more  striking,  since,  owing  to  the  unpopularity  from  which 
he  had  not  even  yet  emerged,  he  could  rely  very  little  on  the 
support  of  his  colleagues,  and  still  less  on  the  favor  of  the 
king.  Whether  Charles  Albert  was  a  despot  by  nature,  or 
whether  he  assumed  only  the  garb  of  despotism  to  make  him- 
self acceptable  to  Austria,  and  thus  blind  her  to  his  future  de- 
signs, he  was  extremely  jealous  of  his  own  power,  and  very  far 
from  admitting  the  right  of  the  people  to  share  with  him  the 
management  of  their  own  affairs.  He  had,  indeed,  under  the 
pressure  of  the  times,  reluctantly  granted  a  few  administrative 
reforms  ;  and  now  that  a  private  citizen,  the  target  of  both  the 
reactionary  and  progressive  parties,  should  dare  loudly  to  de- 
mand a  representative  government,  and  thus  divide  his  sover- 
eignty, was  such  a  monstrous  assumption,  that  but  for  the  agi- 
tations of  the  times,  Cavour  would  have  been  at  once  disgraced. 
The  majority  of  his  colleagues  having  declined  to  support  his 
motion,  and  the  censors  of  the  press  not  having  allowed  the 
publication  of  the  proceedings  of  the  meeting,  he  took  upon 
himself  to  write  directly  to  the  king,  informing  him  of  what  had 
passed,  explaining  his  motives,  and  pointing  out  the  dangers 
involved  in  a  further  deity  to  comply  with  the  exigencies  of 
the  age. 


AN   APPEAL   TO   ARMS.  21 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  effect  of  this  communication, 
it  is  certain  that  the  constitution  was  soon  after  granted,  and 
he  who  was  first  to  demand  it  was,  within  a  few  years,  called 
to  mould  it  into  the  corner-stone  of  the  liberties  of  the  whole 
Italian  people.  Had  Charles  Albert  longer  resisted  the  ad- 
vancing tide  of  public  opinion,  his  dynasty  would,  in  all  prob- 
ability, have  been  swept  away  with  those  of  the  other  rulers ;  as 
it  was,  the  charter  thus  timely  granted  proved  to  be  the  fortu- 
nate bark  destined  to  bear  his  successor  triumphantly  amidst 
contending  storms  to  the  throne  of  Italy. 

Cavour  was  now  appointed  member  of  a  committee  charged 
with  the  drawing  up  of  the  electoral  bill,  a  labor  which  de- 
volved chiefly  upon  him.  This  bill  was  so  broad  and  liberal 
in  its  principles,  that  it  proved  not  only  adapted  to  the  wants 
of  Sardinia,  but  it  has  since  been  extended  to  the  whole  united 
kingdom. 

The  dawn  of  Italian  independence  now  approaches.  Milan 
has  risen  in  arms,  and  driven  the  Austrian  troops  beyond  her 
gates.  The  expectant  nation  waits  only  for  a  chieftain  to 
rout  the  enemy  from  his  strongholds,  and  pursue  him  beyond 
the  Alps.  To  Charles  Albert  all  eyes  are  turned,  all  arms  are 
extended.  But  lie  hesitates,  and  fears  to  risk  the  crown  he 
wears  for  the  more  brilliant  one  which  he  would  grasp.  While 
his  chivalrous  character,  his  ambition,  the  traditions  of  the  house 
of  Savoy,  urge  him  onward,  his  family  connections,  his  conser- 
vative tendencies,  his  dread  of  revolution,  hold  him  back.  His 
advisers  recoil  from  the  responsibility  of  plunging  the  little 
State  of  Sardinia  into  a  war  with  a  powerful  empire,  and  the 
destiny  of  the  nation  seems  equally  imperilled  by  action  and 
delay.  But  with  Cavour  in  this  crisis  there  was  no  doubt,  no 
hesitation ;  and  while  the  king,  surrounded  by  his  counsellors, 
was  debating  instead  of  marching  at  the  head  of  his  army,  he 
published  the  following  appeal  to  arms :  "  The  supreme  hour  for 
the  monarchy  of  Savoy  has  struck  ;  the  hour  for  intrepid  action  ; 
the  hour  on  which  depends  the  fate  of  empires  and  the  destiny  of 
nations.  In  view  of  the  late  events,  there  is  no  time  for  doubt 


22  THE   LEADERSHIP   OF   SARDINIA. 

or  delay ;  of  all  policies  such  would  be  the  most  fatal.  Cool 
in  judgment,  and  accustomed  to  listen  rather  to  the  suggestions 
of  reason  than  to  the  promptings  of  the  heart,  well  weighing 
every  word  which  we  utter,  we  solemnly  and  conscientiously 
declare,  that  there  is  only  one  course  to  be  pursued  for  the  king, 
the  government,  and  the  nation.  War !  war  at  once  and  with- 
out delay.  It  is  impossible  to  retreat.  The  nation  is  already 
at  war  with  Austria.  It  is  rising  now  to  the  aid  of  the  Lom- 
bards. Our  volunteers  have  already  crossed  the  frontier ;  our 
citizens  are  furnishing  ammunition  to  the  Milanese.  The  peace 
with  Austria  is  broken,  and  the  old  treaties  on  either  side  are  torn 
and  trampled  underfoot.  We  have  not  to  decide  whether  we 
shall  commence  war  or  not ;  our  sole  option  is,  whether  we  shall 
declare  ourselves  loyally  and  boldly  for  the  cause  of  humanity 
and  Italy,  or  whether  we  shall  follow  for  a  period  the  tortuous 
path  of  a  doubtful  and  insincere  policy.  We  are  in  a  position 
in  which  courage  is  the  true  prudence,  and  temerity  wiser  than 
caution.  Lombardy  is  in  flames;  Milan  is  besieged;  there  is 
nothing  left  for  us  but  to  fly  to  the  aid  of  our  brothers.  Had 
we  but  five  thousand  men  on  the  frontier,  we  should  march 
them  at  once  to  Milan.  They  might  be  defeated  ;  but  the  moral 
effect  of  such  an  expedition  would  aid  the  Italian  cause  far 
more  than  a  defeat  could  do  it  injury.  Woe  to  us  if,  for  the 
sake  of  increasing  our  preparations,  we  should  come  too  late ; 
if,  when  we  are  ready  to  cross  the  Ticino,  we  should  hear  that 
the  queen  of  Lombardy  has  fallen !  In  our  position  there  is 
but  one  policy,  we  repeat ;  not  that  of  a  Louis  Philippe  and 
Guizot,  but  that  of  a  Frederick  the  Great,  a  Napoleon,  and  a 
Charles  Emmanuel;  the  great  policy  of  bold  counsels." 

The  same  day  on  which  Cavour  expressed  such  a  decided  opin- 
ion on  the  great  question  of  the  intervention  in  LomBardy, 
Charles  Albert  issued  the  famous  proclamation  by  which  he 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  revolution,  and  secured  for  the 
State  the  leadership  of  the  nation.  Occupying  a  commanding 
position  between  the  Alps  and  the  Mediterranean,  inhabited  by 
a  people  distinguished  by  their  practical  sense,  vigor  of  charac- 


A   PRIVATE   VOLUNTEER  23 

ter,  and  warlike  spirit,  and  ruled  by  a  dynasty  whose  power  in 
Italy  had  been  gradually  augmented  during  eight  centuries, 
Sardinia  seemed  peculiarly  fitted  for  the  destiny  assigned  her. 
From  this  time  she  made  common  cause  with  the  whole  nation ; 
and  bravely  entering  into  the  arena,  staked  her  own  existence 
on  the  issue.  Twice  prostrated,  she  twice  arose  from  the  con- 
flict ;  and  at  last,  under  the  guidance  of  Cavour,  we  shall  be- 
hold her  uniting  the  long  divided  provinces  into  one  whole,  as 
a  nebulous  spot  scarcely  visible  far  in  the  space  above,  attract- 
ing around  its  nucleus  masses  of  cosmical  vapor,  at  length  be- 
comes a  luminous  star. 

During  the  war  of  1848,  Turin  witnessed  the  opening  of  the 
first  parliament.  In  that  session  Cavour  sat  as  the  deputy  of 
the  first  district  of  his  native  city;  a  constituency  which,  with 
the  exception  of  one  short  session,  he  continued  to  represent  to 
the  last.  United  to  the  aristocracy  by  birth  and  by  early  asso- 
ciations, yet  separated  from  that  class  by  his  liberal  views; 
tending  toward  the  democratic  party  in  his  progressive  ideas, 
yet  opposing  all  radical  and  visionary  schemes,  he  at  first 
stood  almost  alone  in  the  chamber,  an  isolated,  yet  remarkable 
figure.  Although  he  gave  his  cordial  support  to  the  adminis- 
tration, headed  by  his  friend  Cesare  Balbo,  he  did  not  shrink, 
even  in  his  maiden  speech,  from  rebuking  the  ministry  for  their 
weakness  and  indecision  in  conducting  the  war,  at  a  time  when 
the  only  hope  for  its  success  was  in  bold  and  vigorous  measures. 
He  urged  the  immediate  and  unconditional  annexation  of  Lom- 
bardy  and  Venetia  to  Sardinia,  as  a  necessary  step  to  strengthen 
the  national  forces ;  and,  devoted  to  constitutional  freedom,  he 
opposed  all  efforts  to  curtail  it,  even  such  as  the  exigency  of 
the  time  might  seem  to  justify.  He  now  began  to  give  evidence 
of  his  financial  abilities,  and  otherwise  showed  himself  to  be 
eminently  endowed  with  those  qualities  which  belong  to  the 
genuine  statesman  and  the  leader  in  parliamentary  debate. 

When  the  news  reached  Turin  of  the  defeat  of  the  Sardinian 
army  on  the  plains  of  Custoza,  Cavour  at  once  enlisted  as  a 
private  volunteer,  and  was  only  restrained  from  taking  the 


24  MORAL   COURAGE. 

field  by  the  armistice  of  Salasco,  which  for  the  time  put  an  end 
to  the  war.  He  continued  therefore  to  sit  in  parliament,  using 
now  all  his  influence  to  secure,  through  the  mediation  of  Eng- 
land and  France,  an  honorable  peace  with  Austria,  since  he 
considered  it  impossible  at  that  time  to  carry  on  the  contest. 

Whatever  opinion  may  then  have  been  entertained  of  Cavour's 
policy,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  it  was  eminently  practical,  and 
dictated  by  that  enlightened  statesmanship  which,  in  the  pur- 
suit of  an  object,  knows  how  to  delay  movements  or  change 
positions  in  order  to  secure  its  future  attainment.  Thus  he 
opposed  in  1819  the  bolder  views  of  Grioberti,  which  he  re- 
garded as  endangering  the  national  cause  at  home  and  abroad  ; 
but  when  Grioberti,  alarmed  at  the  excesses  of  the  liberal  party 
in  central  Italy,  proposed  the  armed  intervention  of  Sardinia 
to  restore  the  exiled  princes  under  the  guaranty  of  constitu- 
tional liberty,  he  found  a  staunch  supporter  in  Cavour.  Again, 
when  the  defeat  of  that  measure  led  the  prime  minister  to 
withdraw  from  the  cabinet,  and  war  was  once  more  declared 
by  the  succeeding  administration,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  bring 
all  his  influence  to  the  support  of  the  government,  although 
to  the  last  he  had  discouraged  the  renewal  of  hostilities.  So 
the  true  statesman  rises  superior  to  party,  and  readily  sacrifices 
personal  opinions  and  feelings  on  the  altar  of  patriotism. 

The  course  pursued  by  Cavour  during  those  stormy  years 
exhibits  in  strong  relief  that  moral  courage  with  which  he  was 
peculiarly  endowed.  Believing  the  democratic  tendencies  of 
the  time  utterly  ruinous  to  the  national  cause,  he  fearlessly 
threw  himself  against  the  prevailing  current  of  opinion,  and 
thus  greatly  increased  his  unpopularity.  But  this  could  not 
deter  him  from  performing  what  he.  considered  his  duty  ;  for  he 
did  not  belong  to  that  class  of  politicians  to  be  found  every- 
where, whose  love  of  country  is  subservient  to  self-interest,  and 
whose  object  is  confined  to  flattering  popular  passions  and  preju- 
dices. It  was  a  striking  -spectacle  to  see  him  at  that  time  from 
his  seat  in  the  chamber  defying  the  storm  of  hisses  and  yells 
with  which  he  was  frequently  assailed  from  the  galleries.  Often 


VICTOR   EMMANUEL.  25 

he  called  them  to  order,  or  moved  that  they  should  be  cleared 
according  to  the  rules.  "I  am  not  to  be  prevented  from  speak- 
ing," said  he  on  one  occasion,  "  by  shouts  and  hisses.  What  I 
believe  to  be  true,  that  will  I  speak  out.  If  you  compel  me  to 
silence,  you  insult  not  me  alone,  but  the  chamber.  And  now  I 
shall  proceed."  And  with  his  usual  self-possession  he  resumed 
his  discourse. 

The  disasters  of  1848  and  '49  were  mainly  owing  to  the  want 
of  unity  in  the  pursuit  of  national  independence.  As  the 
first  campaign  had  failed  through  the  defection  of  Pius  IX. 
and  other  princes,  the  misfortunes  of  the  second  were  chiefly 
due  to  the  attempts  of  the  minority  to  introduce  republican 
governments  into  some  of  the  States.  Whatever  may  be  thought 
of  the  relative  value  of  republican  or  monarchical  institutions 
abstractly  considered,  it  can  hardly  be  questioned  that  such  an 
experiment  was  at  that  time  highly  impolitic.  With  Charles 
Albert  supported  by  the  sole  army  in  the  peninsula ;  with  the 
constitutional  party  predominant  in  number  as  well  as  in  intelli- 
gence and  social  position ;  with  the  nation  surrounded  by  jealous 
and  powerful  monarchies,  and  France  fast  drifting  toward  the 
empire,  to  venture  on  such  a  coarse  was  to  divide  the  people 
into  distracting  factions,  and  to  draw  upon  the  country  the 
armies  of  Europe.  So  Italy  fell ;  on  the  plains  of  Novara,  on 
the  lagoons  of  Yenice,  within  the  walls  of  her  ancient  capital, 
she  was  defeated  because  she  was  not  united ;  because,  while 
Turin  was  fighting  for  the  common  cause,  Naples  and  Palermo 
bowed  under  the  iron  yoke  of  the  Bourbon,  and  Kome  and  Flor- 
ence allowed  themselves  to  be  led  astray  by  the  mad  hallucina- 
tions of  Mazzini.  With  Italy,  Sardinia  was  crushed  ;  she  saw 
her  king,  in  disguise,  pass  through  the  camp  of  the  enemy  on  his 
way  to  exile  ;  her  standards  trailed  in  the  dust,  the  stronghold 
of  Alessandria  garrisoned  by  the  Austrians,  her  army  almost 
destroyed,  her  finances  ruined,  her  commerce  obstructed,  her 
people  distracted,  her  very  existence  imperilled. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  Sardinia  when  Victor  Emmanuel 
ascended  the  throne.  Although  known  as  an  intrepid  soldier, 


26  MASSIMO  D'AZEGLIO. 

lie  was  by  no  means  a  favorite  with  the  people,  educated  as  he 
had  been  in  an  atmosphere  of  narrow,  despotic,  and  bigoted  in- 
fluences ;  and  the  disaster  of  Novara  had  not  lessened  the  unfa- 
vorable impression  under  which  he  came  into  power.  Mistrusted 
by  the  country,  the  State  disorganized,  a  large  section  of  the 
liberal  party  in  tumult,  the  army  discontented,  and  Austrian 
power  in  the  ascendant,  there  was  reason  to  fear  that  the  in- 
experienced king  would  furl  the  national  flag,  abolish  constitu- 
tional liberty,  and  shape  his  course  in  accordance  with  that  of 
the  other  sovereigns.  But  Victor  Emmanuel  was  not  the  man 
to  sacrifice  the  great  interests  at  stake.  On  the  fatal  night  of 
Novara,  when  Charles  Albert,  having  in  vain  sought  an  honor- 
able death  at  the  hand  of  the  enemy,  surrounded  by  his  gen- 
erals, resigned  his  crown,  the  young  king  had  unsheathed  his 
sword,  and,  brandishing  it  toward  the  Austrian  camp,  had  swoin 
to  avenge  the  wrongs  of  Italy.  Generous  and  fearless,  Victor 
Emmanuel  did  not  shrink  from  the  dangers  by  which  he  was 
encompassed,  and  from  his  accession  he  resolved  to  walk  in  the 
footsteps  of  his  father,  to  uphold  the  free  institutions  of  the 
state,  and  retain  the  leadership  of  the  nation. 

To  this  end  he  not  only  pledged  his  word  before  the  par- 
liament, but  he  intrusted  himself  and  the  administration  of 
the  country  to  Massimo  dAzeglio,  whose  name  alone  was  a 
symbol  of  nationality.  No  man  represented  the  cause  more 
entirely,  and  none  was  more  fitted  to  guide  the  State  through 
that  dangerous  period.  Though  born  in  Turin,  he  had  passed 
his  life  chiefly  in  Eome  and  Florence,  and  from  the  study  of 
Italian  history,  literature  and  art,  he  had  derived  that  national 
character  by  which  his  career  has  been  so  singularly  marked. 
In  all  the  manifestations  of  his  wonderfully  versatile  genius, 
as  a  painter  of  European  renown,  as  a  novelist  scarcely  infe- 
rior to  Manzoni  and  Grossi,  as  an  able  political  writer  and 
a  gallant  soldier,  Italy  had  been  to  him  what  Beatrice  was  to 
Dante  and  Laura  to  Petrarch.  She  was  his  muse  when,  unit- 
ing history  and  poetry  to  art,  with  master  hand  which  recalls 
the  genius  of  Salvator  Rosa,  he  depicted  on  canvas  the  chal- 


DANGERS   OF   THE   SITUATION.  27 

lenge  of  Barletta,  the  toast  of  Fermccio,  the  battles  of  Legnano, 
of  Turin,  and  the.  Assietta  ;  and  when,  with  surpassing  wealth 
of  imagination,  he  illustrated  the  marvellous  fancies  of  Ariosto, 
as  Michael  Angelo  had  before  delineated  those  of  Dante.  Italy 
still  inspired  him  when,  elevating  romantic  fiction  to  its  highest 
expression,  he  evoked  from  the  past  the  heroes  of  history,  and 
with  glowing  ardor  in  his  Ettore  Fieramosca  and  Nicolo  de 
Lapi,  he  portrayed  the  varying  features  of  patriotism  in  the 
strife  of  the  battle-field  or  in  the  contending  emotions  of  love. 
And  so,  too,  when,  in  the  "  Casi  di  Eomagna"  and  the  "Lutti 
di  Lombardia,"  he  exposed  the  iniquities  of  the  courts  of  Rome 
and  Vienna,  which  had  lighted  insurrections  in  those  provinces 
only  to  extinguish  them  in  blood,  and  warned  his  countrymen 
against  the  reckless  agitators  who  were  their  dupes  and  tools. 
In  184:8  Azeglio  had  laid  aside  the  pencil  and  the  pen  for  the 
sword  ;  he  had  fought  gallantly  and  had  been  wounded  on  the 
field  ;  and  thus  prepared  both  by  thought  and  action,  on  the  ac- 
cession of  Victor  Emmanuel  he  was  called  to  the  premiership  of 
the  cabinet.  His  high  moral  nature,  his  earnestness,  his  accom- 
plishments, the  simplicity  and  the  refinement  of  his  manners, 
softened  by  the  influence  of  literature  and  the  arts,  his  elo- 
quence, and  his  devotion  to  the  country,  endeared  him  to  the 
people  ;  while  his  aristocratic  connections,  his  well-known  mod- 
eration and  prudence,  and  his  open  opposition  to  the  Mazzini 
party,  rendered  him  acceptable  to  the  courts  of  Europe. 

At  that  time  European  nations  were  fast  tending  toward  mili- 
tary despotism,  and  the  conquests  of  the  preceding  year  were 
passing  from  the  grasp  of  the  people.  The  bastard  republic  of 
France  had  not  only  refused  aid  to  the  war  of  Italian  independ- 
ence, but  she  had  armed  her  troops  against  the  sister  republic  of 
Eome  ;  the  lion  of  St.  Mark,  after  a  heroic  resistance,  had  fallen 
again  beneath  the  blood-stained  talons  of  the  double-headed 
eagle;  Messina  and  Palermo  had  been  bombarded;  Naples, 
misled  by  the  treacherous  designs  of  her  tyrant,  had  seen  her 
streets  flow  with  the  blood  of  her  citizens;  and  Florence, 
even  the  beautiful  Florence,  birthplace  and  shrine  of  Italian 


PKOGRESSIVE   POLICY. 

genius,  had  been  polluted  by  the  hated  presence  of  the  Austrian 
troops.  While  despotism  in  Italy  again  held  its  carnival,  the 
sun  of  liberty,  which  had  shone  with  fitful  gleams  in  Hungary, 
now  again  set  in  darkness ;  Germany  sank  once  more  to  her  for- 
mer dreams  and  abstractions ;  and  France,  startled  at  her  own 
advance,  was  fast  falling  beneath  a  military  dictatorship.  In 
the  midst  of  these  opposing  forces,  Sardinia,  in  which  were 
centred  the  hopes  of  all  Italy,  was  forced  to  take  her  course,  a 
frail  bark  on  a  stormy  sea,  struck  on  all  sides  by  the  wings  of 
the  tempest,  and  trembling  on  the  breakers  which  threatened  to 
engulf  her.  But  Azeglio  is  at  the  helm,  and  under  his  guid- 
ance the  bark  shall  safely  outride  the  storm.  When  reaction 
menaced  the  only  free  State  of  the  peninsula,  and  the  republic- 
ans, by  their  futile  attempts  at  revolution,  seemed  bent  on  pre- 
cipitating a  crisis  that  would  involve  the  armed  intervention  of 
Europe,  the  constitutional  party  stood  by  Azeglio,  and  opposed 
the  enemies  of  the  constitution  both  at  home  and  abroad.  Thus 
Sardinia  was  saved  from  the  dire  calamities  prepared  for  her  by 
the  conspiracies  concocted  at  the  same  time  and  for  the  same 
purpose  in  the  cabinets  of  diplomacy  and  in  the  secret  councils 
of  agitators. 

The  constitutional  party  found  in  Cavour  its  most  powerful 
and  devoted  supporter.  But  while  he  coincided  with  Azeglio 
in  his  efforts  to  preserve  free  institutions,  differences  of  opinion 
soon  arose  between  those  two  statesmen  as  to  the  policy  to  be 
pursued.  The  administration,  in  view  of  the  dangers  from 
abroad,  regarded  a  strict  conservatism  as  best  calculated  to  avert 
them;  Cavour,  on  the  contrary,  while  he  dreaded  reaction 
equally  with  his  friend,  dreaded  still  more  the  lethargy  which 
this  policy  would  necessarily  induce,  and  believed  that  a  more 
liberal  course,  without  endangering  relations  with  foreign  gov- 
ernments, would  endear  Sardinia  to  the  progressive  party  abroad, 
satisfy  the  demands  of  public  opinion,  and  more  firmly  attach 
the  Italian  people  to  the  house  of  Savoy.  Hence,  when  the 
storm  had  somewhat  subsided,  he  at  once  urged  upon  the  gov- 
ernment more  progressive  measures. 


AZEGLIO   AND   CAVOUR.  29 

The  war  of  independence  immediately  following  the  promul- 
gation of  the  constitution,  had  thus  far  prevented  the  parlia- 
ment from  introducing  into  legislation  those  reforms  which  lay 
potentially  within  its  provisions.  So  that,  although  endowed 
with  this  charter  of  rights,  the  people  continued  to  be  ruled  in 
many  respects  by  the  laws  of  the  former  regime.  Sardinia  had 
sealed,  with  the  blood  of  her  sons,  her  claim  to  the  leadership  of 
the  national  cause,  but  the  merit  of  that  claim  was  yet  to  be 
proved  by  the  wisdom  of  her  codes ;  the  flag  of  Italian  liberty 
proudly  waved  on  the  Carignano  palace,  but  it  waved  as  yet 
over  a  people  who  still  dragged  the  chains  of  their  former  thral- 
dom. To  throw  off  these  chains,  to  bring  the  legislation  in 
accordance  with  the  constitution,  to  disengage  the  State  from 
the  clutches  of  the  church,  to  give  full  expansion  to  the  princi- 
ples of  liberty,  was,  according  to  Cavour,  the  only  course  for 
Sardinia  to  pursue,  if  she  desired  to  be  worthy  of  the  champion- 
ship of  Italy. 

This  task,  beset  with  extraordinary  difficulties,  required  ener- 
gy and  boldness,  as  well  as  extensive  knowledge  of  economic 
and  political  science ;  and  while  Azeglio  was  more  able  to 
guide  the  State  safely  through  the  dangers  from  abroad,  Cavour 
was  better  fitted  for  the  work  of  internal  reform.  The  patriot- 
ism of  the  former  was  more  spontaneous  and  instinctive ;  that 
of  the  latter  the  result  of  reflection  and  study;  and  in  this 
regard  Azeglio  more  resembled  Mazzini  than  Cavour.  But 
while  Mazzini,  without  calculation  ,or  discrimination,  recklessly 
abandoned  himself  to  his  instincts,  and  wasted  his  energies  in 
spasmodic  efforts,  the  fine  judgment  and  the  tact  of  Azeglio, 
mingled  with  excessive  caution,  impelled  him  in  an  opposite 
direction.  A  true  artist  as  a  painter  and  as  a  writer,  he  was 
also  an  artist  as  a  statesman.  The  idea  of  liberty  produced  in 
his  mind  the  effect  of  the  beautiful ;  feeling  it  keenly  rather 
than  understanding  it  comprehensively,  he  fell  in  love  with  it, 
he  strove  to  actualize  it,  but  finding  himself  powerless  to  give  it 
complete  expression,  he  abandoned  himself  to  its  contemplation. 
Cavour,  on  the  contrary,  had  no  taste  for  the  arts,  and,  a  thor- 


30  ECCLESIASTICAL   REFORMS. 

t 

oughly  business  man,  dealt  with  political  questions  as  with 
practical  concerns.  Without  wasting  himself  in  looking  at  the 
ideal  side  of  political  issues,  he  strove  to  attain  practical  results. 
The  mind  of  Azeglio  was  more  of  an  oriental  cast ;  the  charac- 
teristics of  Cavour  were  those  of  the  genuine  Yankee.  Had 
they  lived  in  the  age  of  chivalry,  the  one  would  have  been  a 
knight  of  the  crusades,  the  other  the  builder  of  the  river-dykes 
of  Lombardy ;  or  had  they  made  a  pilgrimage  to  the  East,  while 
the  one  would  have  returned  laden  with  relics,  the  other  would 
have  brought  back  a  cargo  of  merchandise.  These  differences 
manifested  themselves  even  in  their  early  life;  the  young 
Azeglio  leaves  a  luxurious  home,  and  with  scanty  means  pro- 
ceeds to  Rome  to  study  the  arts;  Cavour,  on  the  contrary, 
delays  his  travels  abroad  to  look  after  his  estates,  and  by  his 
wonderful  business  talent  largely  increases  his  ample  fortune. 
Vastly  surpassed  by  Azeglio  in  aesthetic  attainments,  Cavour 
towered  over  him  in  extent  of  knowledge,  comprehensiveness  of 
intellect,  quickness  of  perception,  force  of  character,  and  energy 
of  action  ;  and  while  the  one  in  great  crises  advanced  timidly 
and  slowly,  feeling  his  way,  the  other,  with  his  object  clearly  in 
view,  and  the  full  consciousness  of  his  power,  overleaped  all 
impediments.  These  peculiarities  in  the  character  of  the  two 
statesmen  nature  had  impressed  even  on  their  external  appear- 
ance. The  slender  form,  the  delicate  features,  and  the  poetical 
expression  of  Azeglio  marked  him  as  a  man  of  refined  sensibil- 
ity and  romantic  sentiment,  as  the  keen  eye,  the  broad  brow, 
and  the  sturdy  figure  of  Cavour,  indicated  at  once  the  iron  will 
and  the  power  to  enforce  it. 

The  first  step  toward  reform  was,  to  emancipate  the  State  from 
the  church,  to  disengage  it  from  the  ecclesiastical  power,  which 
for  so  many  ages  had  penetrated  and  incrusted  every  depart- 
ment, and  clogged  and  prevented  all  progress.  Azeglio  would 
gladly  have  put  an  end  to  the  usurpations,  immunities,  and 
privileges  of  the  clergy  ;  yet  his  lack  of  knowledge  in  ecclesias- 
tical matters,  his  caution,  and  his  taste,  made  him  shrink  from 
entering  into  a  contest  so  bitter  and  uncongenial ;  and,  pressed 


SICAEDl'S   BILL.  31 

by  public  opinion,  he  strove  to  obtain  by  negotiation  that  which 
he  lacked  the  vigor  to  take  by  force.  He  had  again  and  again 
appealed  to  the  holy,  see,  had  sent  envoy  after  envoy,  written 
long  diplomatic  dispatches  interlarded  with  quotations  from  the 
Scriptures,  the  fathers,  and  the  councils,  humbly  imploring  the 
pope  to  allow  himself  to  be  shorn  of  his  power,  and  striving  to 
show  to  the  infallible  head  of  the  church  what  a  monstrous 
blunder  he  was  committing  in  refusing  the  request.  Unsuccess- 
ful in  this,  he  had  placed  on  the  head  of  the  young  king,  accus- 
tomed only  to  the  helmet  of  the  warrior,  the  cap  of  the  theolo- 
gian, and  drew  the  sovereign  into  a  personal  controversy  with 
the  pope,  who,  in  all  questions  relating  to  his  own  authority, 
has  ever  regarded  discussion  as  impertinence.  The  statesman 
who  held  the  reins  of  the  government  had  yet  to  learn  that  the 
Grordian  knot  must  be  cut  by  a  bold  stroke.  Had  England  in 
the  16th  century  waited  for  the  pleasure  of  the  court  of  Rome 
to  break  loose  from  its  yoke,  she  would  yet  find  herself  at  the 
very  threshold  of  civilization.  Had  Louis  IX.,  Charles  VII., 
and  Louis  XIV.,  demanded  the  previous  consent  of  the  pope,  the 
pragmatic  sanctions  which  almost  entirely  freed  France  from  the 
authority  of  Rome  would  never  have  been  promulgated.  Had 
the  first  Napoleon  failed  to  impose  his  own  conditions,  his  con- 
cordat would  never  have  been  signed.  It  is  useless  for  Sparta- 
cus  to  kneel  before  his  master,  to  discuss  or  to  compromise; 
for  his  liberty  he  must  boldly  strike. 

Cavour  urged  upon  Azeglio  the  necessity  of  more  vigorous 
measures.  He  pointed  out  the  impossibility  of  reconciling  the 
exigencies  of  the  present  civilization  with  an  institution  of  the 
past,  and  the  fallacy  of  contending  that  the  pope  had  no  right 
to  interfere  in  the  legislation  of  the  State,  while  that  right  was 
admitted  by  imploring  him  to  relinquish  it.  Owing  to  his 
influence  Count  Sicardi  was  called  to  the  cabinet,  which  was 
thus  strengthened  by  the  upright  and  fearless  character  of  that 
statesman,  by  his  profound  knowledge  of  jurisprudence,  and 
the  fame  which  he  enjoyed  as  the  advocate  of  the  views  of 
Paolo  Sarpi,  the  able  and  bold  defender  of  the  independence  of 


32  MINISTER. 

Venice  against  papal  encroachments  in  the  17th  century.  The 
first  measure  of  this  minister  was  the  introduction  of  a  bill  by 
which  ecclesiastical  courts  and  immunities  were  at  once  abol- 
ished, the  clergy  were  subjected  to  the  common  law,  religious 
corporations  were  prohibited  from  accepting  donations  or  be- 
quests, and  other  provisions  calculated  to  check  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal predominance  were  proposed.  Although  this  bill  embraced 
only  a  few  of  the  needed  reforms,  it  involved  the  great  principle 
of  the  independence  of  the  State  from  the  church,  and  as  such 
it  obtained  on  one  side  the  unqualified  approval  of  the  liberal 
party,  on  the  other  it  was  met  by  the  church  faction  with  an 
animosity  which  could  not  have  been  more  bitter  had  it  at  one 
stroke  put  an  end  to  all  papal  usurpations. 

Cavour  supported  the  bill  of  Sicardi  in  a  speech  remarkable 
for  its  comprehensive  grasp  of  thought,  and  the  power  with 
which  his  views  were  enforced.  Advocating  a  progressive 
policy,  he  thus  addressed  the  administration  on  that  occasion  : 
"Go  on  boldly,  then,  in  the  path  of  reform.  Do  not  hesitate 
because  you  are  told  that  the  time  is  inexpedient ;  do  not  fear 
lest  you  should  weaken  the  constitutional  monarchy  intrusted 
to  your  charge.  Instead  of  weakening  it,  you  will  cause  it  to 
take  such  firm  root  in  the  country,  that  even  if  the  storm  of 
revolution  should  arise  around  us,  the  monarchy  will  not  only 
not  succumb  to  the  onslaught,  but,  collecting  around  it  all  the 
vital  forces  of  Italy,  will  lead  our  nation  to  the  lofty  destiny 
prepared  for  her."  His  speech,  which  greatly  contributed  to 
the  passage  of  the  bill,  met  with  passionate  opposition  from 
many  of  his  political  associates,  who  from  this  time  regarded 
him  with  bitter  aversion.  But,  heeding  neither  remonstrance 
nor  accusation,  he  pursued  his  onward  course,  though  friends 
and  party  remained  behind.  In  a  subsequent  speech  he 
developed  a  complete  system  of  reform  in  all  the  different 
branches  of  government,  with  such  extraordinary  power  as  to 
attract  universal  attention,  and  to  establish  his  position  as  the 
first  statesman  in  the  country. 

In  the  autumn  of  1850,  on  the  death  of  Count  Santa  Eosa, 


FREE   TRADE.  33 

Cavour  was  named  his  successor  as  minister  of  agricultural  and 
commercial  affairs  ;  he  was  soon  after  charged  with  the  depart- 
ment of  the  navy,  and  later  with  the  still  more  important  one 
of  finance.  It  is  said  that  when  his  appointment  was  sug- 
gested by  Azeglio  to  the  king,  he  remarked  with  striking  fore- 
sight :  "  It  is  very  well,  but  this  man  will  soon  supplant  you 
all ;"  and  indeed  Cavour  was  not  long  in  the  cabinet,  before  he 
became  its  ruling  spirit.  He  was  scarcely  seated  in  his  minis- 
terial chair  before  he  made  overtures  to  all  the  principal  govern- 
ments of  Europe,  which  soon  resulted  in  commercial  treaties 
with  England,  France,  Belgium,  Sweden,  Denmark,  the  Zollve- 
rein,  Switzerland,  Holland,  and  even  with  Austria ;  he  strove  to 
open  new  avenues  to  commerce,  planted  a  consulate  wherever 
he  could  send  a  ship,  and  urged  the  establishment  of  a  line  of 
steamers  between  the  Mediterranean  and  the  two  Americas  ;  a 
favorite  project  with  him,  for  which  as  early  as  1853  he  secured 
from  the  parliament  liberal  pecuniary  aid.  Although  this 
scheme  failed  through  unforeseen  obstacles,  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  at  a  no  distant  period  it  will  be  successfully  carried  out, 
particularly  in  view  of  the  new  conditions  of  the  peninsula. 
The  country  which  gave  birth  to  Columbus  demands  a  closer 
connection  with  the  New  World. 

Convinced  that  the  nation  most  generous  in  commercial  trea- 
ties is  in  the  end  the  gainer,  a  passionate  admirer  of  Adam 
Smith,  Eicardo,  and  Eobert  Peel,  and  from  the  first  an  advo- 
cate of  the  principles  of  free  trade,  Cavour  at  once  set  to  work 
to  introduce  them  into  practice,  and  lowered  or  abolished  the 
tariff  on  importations  in  favor  of  those  countries  which  would 
reciprocate  with  Sardinia.  In  this  manner  he  intended  to  in- 
crease indirectly  the  revenue  of  the  State,  to  promote  individual 
wealth,  and  by  forcing  his  countrymen  into  competition  with 
nations  more  advanced,  to  rouse  them  from  that  lethargy  which 
was  equally  fatal  to  their  material  interests  and  to  their  politi- 
cal and  moral  character.  Indeed,  free  trade  became  in  the  hands 
of  Cavour  a  political  engine  as  well  as  an  economical  principle ; 
and  by  making  Sardinia  a  free  market,  and  connecting  her  with 


34  PUBLIC    IMPROVEMENTS. 

the  commerce  of  other  nations,  he  rendered  her  expansion  and 
prosperity  an  object  of  interest  to  them  all.  In  carrying  out 
this  policy  he  was  bitterly  opposed,  not  only  by  the  reactionary 
party,  but  by  many  friends  of  progress,  who,  unable  to  rise  to 
his  high  stand-point,  demanded  protection  for  agricultural  pro- 
ductions, and  denounced  commercial  liberty  as  ruinous  alike  to 
the  independence  and  the  prosperity  of  the  country.  The  oppo- 
sition was  carried  so  far  as  finally  to  end  in  a  challenge  from 
one  of  his  most  violent  adversaries.  On  this  occasion  he  ex- 
hibited his  usual  courage  and  calmness.  Immediately  before 
the  meeting  took  place,  he  delivered  in  the  chamber  a  long 
speech  on  the  subject  under  discussion,  and  then,  with  the  same 
composure  which  attended  his  ordinary  movements,  repaired  to 
the  appointed  place.  The  combatants  fired  at  twenty -five  paces, 
but  both  were  unhurt,  and  the  affair  terminated. 

But  no  provocation,  no  denunciation,  no  danger,  could  divert 
Cavour  from  his  course,  while  he  beheld  in  the  distance  the 
magnificent  results  of  his  policy.  By  sacrificing  high  duties,  he 
encouraged  importation,  and  gave  a  new  impulse  to  industry 
and  to  revenue.  The  importations  of  1858,  as  compared  with 
those  of  1855,  augmented  more  than  fifty  per  cent;  the  exporta- 
tions  in  still  greater  proportion.  The  growth  and  manufacture 
of  silk  increased  three-fold,  the  cotton  manufacture  five-fold, 
and  so,  more  or  less,  with  wool,  flax,  machinery,  and  the  like. 
The  principle  of  free  trade  has  probably  nowhere  been  so  suc- 
cessfully tested  as  in  Sardinia,  although  it  had  its  first  trial  at  a 
time  when  the  resources  of  the  country  were  crippled  by  two 
disastrous  wars,  by  mysterious  diseases  which  long  affected  the 
two  great  staples,  silkworms  and  vines,  and  by  various  commer- 
cial crises  in  Europe  and  America. 

To  Cavour  Sardinia  is  also  chiefly  indebted  for  the  network 
of  railroads  which  furrows  her  territory.  When  he  entered  the 
cabinet  there  were  scarcely  one  hundred  miles  in  the  country, 
and  at  the  time  of  his  death  all  the  principal  lines  in  that  part 
of  the  kingdom  were  in  full  operation.  To  expedite  the  public 
works,  he  early  called  to  the  cabinet  the  eminent  engineer 


TAXATION.  35 

Paleocapa,  through  whose  industry  he  soon  completed  the  road 
between  Turin  and  Genoa,  which  from  its  mountainous  character 
presented  obstacles  almost  insurmountable.  To  this  great  trunk 
branches  were  added,  connecting  those  two  cities  with  the  other 
main  points  of  the  State,  with  the  valley  of  the  Danube  and 
eastern  Europe,  with  Switzerland  and  Germany  by  proposed 
tunnels  through  the  northern  Alps,  and  with  France  and  Eng- 
land by  that  colossal  work  now  in  progress,  that  is  to  pierce 
Mount  Cenis,  to  open  within  the  next  five  years  the  gloomy  corri- 
dors of  the  Alps  to  the  locomotive,  raid  afford  to  western  Europe 
through  Italy  the  most  direct  passage  to  the  east.  With  equally 
enlightened  views  he  established  telegraphic  communication  in 
all  directions ;  and  having  united  Turin  to  the  other  cities  of 
the  State  and  to  the  capitals  of  Europe  by  the  magic  wire,  he 
extended  it  through  the  sea,  and  from  Piazza  Castello  sent 
his  orders  to  Cagliari  and  Sassari,  and  his  greetings  to  Malta 
and  Africa. 

The  transfer  of  the  naval  arsenal  to  the  Gulf  of  Spezia  was 
also  a  favorite  plan  with  him,  which,  when  accomplished,  will 
afford  the  navy  one  of  the  most  splendid  harbors  in  the  world, 
and  facilitate  those  improvements  in  the  port  of  Genoa  calculat- 
ed to  render  it  a  fit  emporium  for  cosmopolitan  commerce. 

When  to  this  we  add  the  increase  of  the  army  and  navy,,  the 
construction  of  fortifications  and  men-of-war,  the  transformation 
of  sailing  vessels  into  steam  frigates,  the  extraordinary  develop- 
ment of  the  mercantile  marine,  the  establishment  of  institutions 
of  public  credit,  the  expansion  of  the  national  bank,  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  legal  rate  of  interest,  the  reduction  of  postage,  the 
extension  of  popular  and  technical  education,  and  many  other 
reforms,  which  he  carried  out  either  directly  through  his  per- 
sonal exertions  or  indirectly  through  his  influence  and  super- 
vision, we  may  form  an  idea  of  the  colossal  work  which  he 
accomplished  in  the  period  which  intervened  between  1851  and 
1859. 

Of  course,  in  the  execution  of  his  vast  designs  Cavour  was 
forced  to  increase  taxation ;  and  that  he  failed  to  reform  this 


36  PUBLIC   DEBT. 

important  department  has  been  a  general  charge  against  his 
administration.  But,  considering  the  extraordinary  and  per- 
plexing circumstances  in  which  he  found  himself,  the  wants  of 
the  country  and  the  means  at  hand,  we  hold  it  as  not  the  least 
evidence  of  his  practical  wisdom  that  he,  although  urged  on  by 
popular  demand,  knew  how  to  abstain  from  innovations  which 
even  in  ordinary  times  are  fraught  with  danger.  To  augment 
existing  taxes  and  to  introduce  new  ones  is,  after  all,  the  system 
which  is  followed  in  the  great  crises  of  all  countries,  and  a  bet- 
ter method  is  yet  to  be  devised  for  supplying  the  ways  and 
means  of  governments.  So  it  is  with  public  debt.  Taxation 
and  debt  are  but  relative  terms  corresponding  to  public  wealth ; 
and  to  estimate  the  burden  of  a  nation,  its  resources  must  be 
taken  into  account.  If  Cavour  has  enormously  increased  the 
liabilities  of  his  country,  he  has  in  a  greater  proportion  aug- 
mented its  assets.  England  in  the  16th  century  had  no  public 
debt,  and  her  taxation  was  but  one-fortieth  of  what  it  is  now; 
the  United  States  at  the  epoch  of  the  declaration  of  independ- 
ence had  no  debt,  and  but  little  taxation ;  yet  it  will  hardly 
be  said  that  the  economical  condition  of  those  countries  in  the 
past  was  better  than  at  the  present  time.  Moreover,  and  this 
point  should  never  be  overlooked,  it  was  necessary  that  Sardinia 
should  advance  the  means  requisite  for  the  deliverance  of  Italy, 
and  no  pecuniary  consideration  could  restrain  that  State  from 
the  fulfilment  of  its  duty.  It  was  owing  to  the  financial  repu- 
tation of  Cavour  that  its  public  credit  was  sustained  amidst 
the  most  trying  circumstances,  and  that  the  country  was  thus 
enabled  to  support  the  burden  of  the  national  struggle.  While 
Eussia,  Austria,  and  other  great  powers  found  insurmountable 
difficulties  in  raising  money,  Sardinia,  although  suffering  from 
the  cholera  and  deficient  harvests,  never  failed  to  negotiate  her 
loans  in  London  and  Paris  at  the  market  price,  and  her  bonds, 
issued  under  the  authority  of  her  great  statesman,  have  at  all 
times  been  as  marketable  in  the  exchanges  of  those  capitals 
as  the  United  States  coupons  are  in  Wall  street. 

It  was  only  one  year  from  the  time  when  Cavour  entered  the 


37 

cabinet,  and  so  vigorously  commenced  the  work  of  retrieving 
the  country  from  its  prostrate  condition,  when  the  night  of  the  2d 
of  December,  1851,  closed  upon  the  grave  of  the  French  repub- 
lic. Three  years  before  the  coup  d'etat  took  place,  pointing  out 
the  dangers  by  which  France  was  menaced,  Cavour  had  predicted 
in  so  many  words  that  the  socialistic  tendencies  which  then 
prevailed  would  bring  the  nephew  of  the  great  emperor  to  the 
imperial  throne.  At  the  time  when  Louis  Napoleon  seized  with 
a  strong  hand  the  reins  of  power,  France  was  suffering  from  the 
effects  of  the  excessive  impulse  given  by  the  government  of 
Louis  Philippe  to  the  interests  of  the  wealthy  at  the  expense  of 
the  laboring  classes.  Capital  had  absorbed  all  the  advantages  of 
labor,  and  held  over  it  despotic  sway.  A  universal  uneasiness 
arose,  mingled  with  a  deep  hatred  toward  those  whom  the  peo- 
ple regarded  as  the  cause  of  their  distress,  and  the  necessity  of  a 
radical  reform  in  the  organic  structure  of  society  took  possession 
of  the  public  mind.  But  the  manifold  schemes  for  effecting  this 
change,  though  containing  some  just  views,  abounded  with  the- 
ories the  more  seductive  to  popular  imagination  as  they  were 
vague  and  visionary.  France,  under  the  guidance  of  weak  lead- 
ers, soon  found  herself  divided  into  two  hostile  parties  ;  the  one 
allured  by  the  bright  promises  of  social  regeneration,  the  other 
alarmed  by  the  gloomy  prospect  of  danger  not  less  keenly  felt 
for  being  exaggerated  and  undefined.  Meanwhile  the  political 
factions,  which  had  been  overthrown  by  the  revolution  of  1848, 
taking  courage  from  the  distracted  condition  of  the  people,  ral- 
lied, and  forming  a  vast  conspiracy  against  the  republic,  strove 
to  re-establish  their  power  on  its  ruins.  They  soon  acquired  the 
majority  in  the  legislative  assembly,  plotted  the  expedition 
against  Borne,  and  waged  war  against  liberty  at  home. 

When,  in  consequence  of  the  prestige  attached  to  his  name, 
and  the  popularity  of  the  views  which  he  had  put  forth  during  his 
exile,  Louis  Napoleon  was  elected  president,  the  spirit  of  the  re- 
public had  long  since  died  away.  A  profound  diplomatist,  eager 
for  power,  and  a  firm  believer  in  his  own  destiny,  Napoleon 
succeeded  in  gradually  compromising  his  adversaries  before  the 


38  SARDINIA  THREATENED. 

people,  and  in  securing  at  the  same  time  the  support  of  the  cler- 
gy and  of  the  wealthy  classes.  Throwing  the  odium  of  all  reac- 
tionary measures  on  the  assembly,  and  assuming  for  himself  the 
merit  of  all  reforms  he  advocated  order  for  the  security  of  the 
higher  classes,  and  plans  for  the  improvement  of  the  lower  ones. 
So,  step  by  step  he  stealthily  advanced,  till,  seizing  and  casting 
aside  the  conspirators,  he  grasped  in  his  own  hands  the  destiny 
of  the  nation.  It  is  not  within  our  province  to  consider  the 
moral  aspect  of  the  coup  d'etat;  but  this  much  may  be  said,  that 
the  founders  of  other  monarchies  had  neither  the  object  of  sav- 
ing their  countries  from  impending  ruin,  nor  even  the  semblance 
of  popular  suffrage.  Certainly  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  Louis 
Napoleon,  menaced  by  old  and  new  factions,  by  approaching 
anarchy,  and  the  open  hereditary  hostility  of  the  European 
powers,  was  forced  to  seize  with  an  iron  grasp  the  helm  of  state, 
to  veil  the  statue  of  liberty,  and  to  assume  the  garb  of  a  despot. 
But  when  France  willingly  accepts  the  new  regime,  hails  her 
ruler  as  her  redeemer,  and  cheerfully  bestows  upon  him  the 
insignia  of  imperial  dignity,  we,  believers  in  the  right  of  popu- 
lar sovereignty,  feel  bound  to  recognize  that  right  in  the  French 
people,  and  trust  that  the  glories  which  they  have  achieved 
under  the  star  of  Napoleon  III.  will  be  crowned  with  that  liber- 
ty, which  he  himself  has  declared  is  the  summit  of  all  national 
greatness. 

The  political  condition  of  France  has  always  reacted  on  other 
nations,  and  after  the  coup  d'etat  despotism  became  more  threat- 
ening toward  Sardinia.  News  of  that  event  had  scarcely  reached 
the  capitals  of  Europe,  before  remonstrances  from  various  gov- 
ernments were  addressed  to  the  court  of  Turin,  urging  the  neces- 
sity of  abolishing  or  curtailing  the  guaranties  of  liberty  secured 
by  the  constitution.  The  cabinets  of  Vienna,  Florence,  and 
Naples  went  so  far  as  to  intrude  their  advice  on  the  king,  and  to 
insist  that  Sardinian  institutions  should  be  brought  into  con- 
formity with  those  of  the  other  states  ;  for  despotism  abhors  all 
contact  with  liberty.  Victor  Emmanuel,  however,  refused  to 
violate  the  constitution  which  he  had  sworn  to  maintain ;  he 


URBANO    RATTAZZI.  39 

spurned  the  menaces  of  his  would-be  advisers,  and  stood  by  the 
rights  of  the  people.  Finding  themselves  baffled  in  their  efforts 
to  extend  their  baneful  influence  over  the  only  free  State  of 
Italy,  those  despots  appealed  to  Louis  Napoleon,  denounced 
Sardinia  as  the  centre  of  revolutionary  agitation,  and  besought 
his  interference,  as  the  rebels  of  the  South  are  at  this  moment 
begging  support  from  foreign  powers.  But  as  the  machinations 
of  the  petty  rulers  of  the  peninsula  failed  to  enlist  France  in 
their  cause,  nay,  as  they  were  soon  after  ignominiously  expelled 
from  their  thrones,  while  Victor  Emmanuel,  faithful  to  his  mis- 
sion, received  the  crown  of  Itaty,  so  we  believe  that  the  civili- 
zation of  Europe  will  not  now  be  prostituted  to  the  service  of 
barbarism  in  America,  and  that  the  time  is  near  at  hand  when 
the  glorious  banner,  the  emblem  of  the  hopes  of  humanity,  so 
lately  trampled  under  the  feet  of  parricides,  shall  again  proudly 
wave  from  the  great  lakes  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

The  attacks  of  the  Sardinian  journals  upon  foreign  sovereigns 
formed  one  of  the  principal  grievances  of  which  Austria  com- 
plained ;  and  although  Cavour  and  Azeglio  declined  to  restrict  in 
any  way  the  freedom  of  the  press,  they  admitted  the  necessity  of 
making  some  provision  to  bring  the  offenders  before  the  courts  in 
cases  of  libel.  For  this  purpose  the  administration  introduced  a 
bill,  which,  being  apparently  an  act  of  submission  to  foreign  gov- 
ernments, was  met  with  vigorous  opposition  by  the  liberal  party. 
The  conservatives,  on  the  contrary,  not  only  supported  it,  but 
took  the  occasion  of  this  discussion  to  expatiate  on  the  excesses 
of  the  press,  and  to  demand  more  severe  restrictions.  Cavour, 
perceiving  that  this  party  would  force  the  government  into  re- 
actionary measures,  at  once  abandoned  it,  and  threw  himself 
into  the  ranks  of  those  liberals  who  acknowledged  Urbano  Eat- 
tazzi  as  their  leader.  This  statesman  had  acquired  a  prominent 
position  in  the  house ;  he  had  been  a  member  of  the  cabinet 
presided  over  by  Gioberti,  had  succeeded  him  on  his  resigna- 
tion, had  declared  war  against  Austria,  and  had  retired  on  the 
defeat  of  Novara.  From  that  time  he  began  to  advocate  a  more 
moderate  policy,  in  accordance  with  the  exigencies  of  the  times, 


40  VISIT   TO   ENGLAND   AND   FKANCE. 

and,  although  he  opposed  the  bill  under  discussion,  he  tendered 
his  support  to  the  ministry  on  condition  that  certain  reforms 
should  be  energetically  carried  out.  Cavour,  on  his  own  re- 
sponsibility, and  in  opposition  to  the  majority  of  the  cabinet, 
boldly  accepted  his  offer,  and  with  him  and  his  friends  formed 
a  third  party,  of  which  he  became  the  chief.  Thus  these  two 
patriots,  starting  from  opposite  points,  met  each  other,  and  in  a 
peaceful  fusion  they  accomplished  the  union  of  the  conserva- 
tive and  the  progressive  forces  of  the  nation.  By  this  means 
Cavour  acquired  the  control  of  more  vital  elements,  the  advan- 
tage of  Rattazzi's  juridical  science,  his  administrative  talent, 
his  keen  dialectic  power,  his  eloquence  and  popularity.  His 
alliance,  however,  with  a  party  which  was  regarded  as  opposed 
to  the  administration,  was  considered  so  imprudent  that  Azeglio 
felt  bound  to  send  instructions  to  the  ministers  abroad,  direct- 
ing them  to  allay  the  suspicions  which  it  might  have  engendered 
at  the  foreign  courts.  But,  although  reproved  by  his  colleagues 
and  denounced  as  an  apostate  by  those  who  look  with  aversion 
upon  all  progress  and  development,  Cavour,  nothing  daunted, 
continued  his  course ;  and  within  three  months  he  nominated 
his  new  ally  to  the  speakership  of  the  house,  and  carried  the 
election.  This  was  too  much  for  the  cabinet  to  bear ;  its  disso- 
lution followed,  and  Azeglio  was  appointed  to  form  a  new 
administration.  Whereupon  Cavour  retired,  confident  that  he 
would  soon  return  to  power  with  increased  strength. 

During  the  parliamentary  recess  Cavour  again  visited  Eng- 
land and  Scotland.  While  in  London  he  made  a  midnight  tour 
of  inspection,  under  the  guidance  of  a  detective,  through  the 
lowest  haunts  of  vice  and  crime  in  that  metropolis,  in  order  to 
make  himself  acquainted  by  personal  observation  with  the 
actual  condition  of  the  lower  classes.  On  his  return  to  Paris 
he  met  Rattazzi  by  appointment,  and  the  two  statesmen  had 
important  interviews  with  the  emperor,  to  whom  they  had  the 
opportunity  of  representing  the  true  condition  of  affairs  in  Sar- 
dinia, and  of  urging  upon  him  the  claims  of  Italy. 

In  the  absence  of  Cavour,  Azeglio,  in  order  to  propitiate  the 


CIVIL   MARRIAGE.  41 

liberal  party,  introduced  a  bill  for  regulating  civil  marriage. 
Hitherto  the  law  had  considered  marriage  as  a  contract  essenti- 
ally united  with  the  sacrament,  and  submitted  it  to  ecclesiastical 
rule.  Marriage  was  thus  left  under  the  control  of  the  clergy, 
who  became  the  only  magistrates  recognized  for  its  celebration, 
the  only  judges  in  all  matters  relating  to  it,  and  the  official 
guardians  of  the  civil  state.  The  evil  consequences  derived 
from  this  confusion  of  laws  and  offices  could  not  be  overlooked. 
Whatever  were  the  religious  opinions  of  the  parties  to  be 
wedded,  they  were  obliged  to  conform  themselves  to  the  regula- 
tions of  the  church.  No  marriage  was  permitted  between 
parties  of  whom  only  one  was  properly  baptized,  or  of  whom 
one  had  previously  taken  orders,  as  if  the  State  acknowledged 
some  magic  effect  inherent  to  the  imposition  of  hands  by  a 
bishop,  which  should  forever  disqualify  the  citizen  from  family 
duties  and  affections.  The  marriage  between  unbaptized  people 
was  valid ;  but  if  one  chose  to  be  baptized,  the  former  tie  was 
at  once  broken,  and  the  husband  or  the  wife  thus  baptized  was 
entitled  to  abandon  the  other  party,  and  to  marry  again.  The 
impediments  of  the  canon  law  having  been  multiplied  for  the 
purpose  of  multiplying  dispensations,  and  thus  of  increasing 
the  revenue  of  the  church,  the  State  in  recognizing  them  had 
become  a  mercantile  agent,  and  sold  the  rights  of  the  people 
for  the  benefit  of  the  court  of  Rome.  Against  these  enormities 
public  opinion  had  long  since  protested,  and  Azeglio  now  set 
at  work  to  comply  with  its  demands.  But  his  proposed  reform 
reclaimed  only  a  part  of  the  rights  of  the  State,  and  thus,  while 
it  called  forth  the  wrath  of  the  clergy,  it  failed  to  reconcile  the 
people. 

Cavour,  on  his  return  to  Turin,  found  the  administration  em- 
barrassed by  the  opposition  both  of  the  liberal  and  reactionary 
parties,  and  involved  in  a  harassing  contest  with  the  Papal  See. 
Weak  and  vacillating  when  bold  measures  were  required,  and 
ready  to  compromise  on  matters  which  do  not  admit  of  com- 
promise, Azeglio  was  now  obliged  to  resign.  Before  doing  so, 
however,  he  advised  the  king  to  intrust  the  government  to 


42  KATTAZZI'S   BILL. 

Cavour,  as  the  only  man  able  to  cope  with  the  difficulties  of  the  * 
situation.  Victor  Emmanuel  accepted  the  advice,  but,  unwill- 
ing to  come  to  an  open  rupture  with  the  pope,  he  desired 
Cavour  to  make  another  attempt  at  conciliation.  On  these  terms 
he  declined  the  appointment,  and  after  several  ineffectual  efforts 
on  the  part  of  the  conservatives  to  reconstruct  the  cabinet, 
he  was  at  length  intrusted  with  the  administration  on  his  own 
conditions.  He  assumed  the  presidency  of  the  council  and  the 
department  of  finance. 

From  this  time  to  the  period  of  his  death,  with  the  exception 
of  a  short  interval,  Cavour  continued  to  hold  the  reins  of  gov- 
ernment. He  at  once  impressed  a  deeper  character  of  nation- 
ality upon  the  foreign  policy,  and  when  Austria  confiscated  the 
property  of  those  among  the  Italians  of  Lombardy  and  Yenetia 
who  had  become  citizens  of  Sardinia,  he  protested  in  a  memo- 
randum against  such  an  outrageous  measure,  and  finally  obtained 
its  repeal.  In  his  domestic  policy,  too,  he  carried  out  still  more 
energetically  the  reforms  and  public  improvements  already 
referred  to.  He  showed  himself  more  and  more  attached  to 
the  spirit  of  the  constitution ;  and  encountering  a  strong  and 
systematic  opposition  in  the  senate  on  account  of  his  liberal 
views,  instead  of  introducing  new  and  more  friendly  members 
into  that  assembly,  as  the  government  had  the  right  to  do,  he 
preferred  an  appeal  to  the  ballot-box,  and  the  result  afforded 
him  a  new  triumph. 

Cavour  now  called  Kattazzi  to  the  cabinet  as  minister  of  Grace 
and  Justice,  and  thus  perfected  that  alliance  which  he  had  be- 
fore inaugurated.  He  caused  at  once  a  bill  to  be  introduced  for 
the  suppression  of  various  religious  corporations  and  for  the 
taxation  of  the  property  of  the  church,  which  till  now  had  been 
exempt.  Although  this  law  by  no  means  included  all  the  re- 
forms demanded  by  the  time,  it  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  ecclesi- 
astical party.  If  liberty  was  not  restored  by  that  act  to  the 
numerous  misguided  people  who,  seduced  by  the  bigotry  of  the 
past  regime,  had  in  their  youth  sacrificed  on  the  altar  of  super- 
stition the  inalienable  birthright  of  their  personality,  at  least 


A   CRISIS.  43 

others  were  prevented  from  falling  into  the  same  slavery. 
If  all  the  institutions  antagonistic  to  civil  progress  were  not 
swept  away,  their  number  was  at  least  diminished.  If  all  the 
public  wealth  was  not  returned  to  the  community,  which,  be- 
queathed for  its  general  weal,  was  now  used  to  its  prejudice,  at 
least  a  considerable  portion  of  land  was  redeemed  which  before 
was  enfeoffed  to  the  church.  If,  finally,  the  successors  of  the 
fishermen  were  not  reduced  to  the  standard  poverty  of  their 
teacher,  provision  was  made  for  the  relief  of  the  rural  clergy, 
who,  although  the  most  laborious  and  deserving,  were  left  to 
starvation  amidst  the  affluence  of  the  bishops. 

While  this  reform  was  under  discussion  before  the  parliament, 
the  high  clergy  left  no  means  untried  to  defeat  its  passage,  and 
fate  seemed  to  conspire  with  them.  Just  at  this  time,  within  a 
few  days,  Victor  Emmanuel  had  seen  the  grave  close  over  the 
remains  of  his  mother,  of  his  lovely  young  wife,  and  of  his  only 
brother,  and  the  priests  who  had  personal  access  to  him,  avail- 
ing themselves  of  his  despondency,  represented  these  calamities 
as  indications  of  divine  wrath,  and  a  just  punishment  for  his  op- 
position to  the  church.  It  was  no  wonder  that  at  such  a  time 
these  artful  intimations  should  make  some  impression  on  the 
king,  overwhelmed  by  these  successive  bereavements,  and  that 
for  a  moment  he  should  yield.  Urged  by  the  warnings  and 
the  menaces  of  his  ecclesiastical  advisers,  he  desired  the  minis- 
try to  withdraw  the  bill,  and  to  effect  a  compromise  with  the 
court  of  Kome.  At  this  request  Cavour  and  the  cabinet  at  once 
resigned.  The  rejoicing  of  the  church  party  at  this  triumph  was 
equalled  only  by  the  general  alarm.  But  while  the  clergy  were 
striving  to  form  a  new  administration,  Azeglio,  with  that  gener- 
osity and  lofty  patriotism  which  have  distinguished  his  whole 
life,  flew  to  rescue  the  country  from  the  impending  danger.  He 
at  once  demanded  an  audience  at  the  palace,  which  for  the  first 
time  was  refused.  In  a  few  hours  he  presented  himself  again, 
and  was  again  refused.  He  then  wrote  a  letter  to  the  king,  first 
given  to  the  public  in  a  late  English  work. 

The  letter,  bearing  the  date  of  April  29th,  1855,  is  as  follows  : 


44  LETTER   OF   AZEGLIO. 

"'Sire — In  Spain  it  was  once  prohibited  under  pain  of  death 
to  touch  the  king.  There  was  one  whose  robe  caught  fire  ;  no 
one  ventured  to  lay  hands  on  him,  and  the  king  was  burnt  to 
death.  But  were  I  to  risk  my  head  or  the  total  loss  of  your 
majesty's  favor,  I  would  think  myself  the  most  vile  of  men 
if  in  a  moment  like  this  I  allowed  your  refusal  to  see  me  to 
deter  me  from  addressing  you.  Sire,  believe  in  your  old  and 
faithful  servant,  who  in  your  service  has  had  no  other  object 
than  your  good,  your  fame,  and  the  welfare  of  the  country.  I 
say  it  with  tears  in  my  eyes,  and  kneeling  at  your  feet :  Do 
not  proceed  farther  in  the  road  you  have  taken — there  is  yet 
time ;  return  to  your  previous  one.  A  cabal  of  friars  has  suc- 
ceeded in  one  day  in  destroying  the  work  of  your  reign,  in 
agitating  the  country,  in  undermining  the  constitution,  and  in 
obscuring  your  name  for  honesty  and  truth.  There  is  not  a 
moment  to  be  lost.  No  official  announcement  has  as  yet  made  it 
impossible  for  you  to  retract.  It  was  said  that  the  crown  desired 
to  take  counsel  on  the  subject ;  let  the  crown  say  that  these 
counsels  have  shown  the  proposed  conditions  to  be  inadmissible. 
Let  what  is  just  past  be  considered  as  if  it  had  never  been, 
and  affairs  will  resume  their  normal  and  constitutional  current. 
Sardinia  will  suffer  every  thing  except  being  put  anew  under 
the  priestly  yoke.  Witness  in  Spain  the  result  of  the  monkish 
intrigues  to  bring  the  queen  to  sign  a  disgraceful  concordat. 
To  what  has  it  reduced  her !  Similar  intrigues  produced  the 
downfall  of  James  Stuart,  of  Charles  X.,  and  many  others. 
Your  majesty  knows  well  that  the  things  which  I  predicted 
have  come  to  pass.  Believe  me ;  this  is  not  a  question  of  re- 
ligion, but  of  interest.  Amadeus  II.  disputed  for  thirty  years 
with  Home,  and  conquered  at  the  last.  Be  firm,  and  your 
majesty  will  likewise  conquer.  Do  not  be  incensed  against  me. 
This  act  of  mine  is  the  act  of  an  honest  man,  of  a  faithful  sub- 
ject, and  of  a  true  friend."* 

Such  were  the  words  of  Azeglio,  and  they  were  not  written 

*  The  Vicissitudes  of  Italy  since  the  Congress  of  Yienna.     By  A.  L.  Y.  Gretton. 
London,  1859. 


THE   CRIMEAN   WAR.  45 

in  vain.  Cavour  was  again  summoned,  the  cabinet  restored, 
the  idea  of  a  compromise  dismissed,  and  the  bill  which  had 
been  the  occasion  of  this  contest  received  the  approval  of  the 
parliament  and  the  signature  of  the  king.  Had  Cavour  yielded, 
had  Azeglio  failed  to  express  less  noble  sentiments  to  his  sov- 
ereign, Victor  Emmanuel  would  not  now  wear  the  crown  of 
Italy.  Let  the  names  of  Cavour  and  Azeglio  be  engraved  on 
that  crown.  They  have  saved  the  king ;  they  have  saved  Italy. 

Thus  far  the  chief  object  of  Cavour  had  been  to  transform 
the  ancient  regime  into  a  strictly  constitutional  government, 
and  to  unite  it  to  other  countries  by  the  silver  thread  of  com- 
merce ;  but  now  that  the  spirit  of  freedom  had  infused  vitality 
into  the  State,  his  purposes  expanded  and  his  action  took  a 
wider  scope.  The  Crimean  war  was  the  first  event  which 
opened  the  way  to  this  more  extended  arena.  Although  the 
alliance  of  the  two  western  powers  of  Europe  originated  in  the 
necessity  of  checking  the  menacing  preponderance  of  Kussia 
in  the  east,  Napoleon  had  another  object  in  view,  that  of  break- 
ing the  union  of  those  governments  which,  by  the  treaty  of 
Vienna,  had  dishonored  France,  and  brought  about  the  down- 
fall of  his  dynasty.  This  alliance  would  add  greatly  to  his 
authority  among  nations,  would  awake  England  to  the  danger 
of  his  enmity  as  well  as  to  the  advantages  of  his  friendship, 
sever  her  connection  with  the  Czar,  whom  it  would  chastise,  and 
place  Austria  either  within  his  power  or  that  of  Kussia.  On 
one  hand  she  would  be  drawn  into  a  war  against  Russia,  on  the 
other  into  a  collision  with  England  and  France ;  or,  remaining 
neutral,  she  would  estrange  herself  from  all.  In  any  event 
Austria  would  lose  her  influence. 

Cavour  perceived  at  once  the  motives  and  bearings  of  the 
Anglo-French  alliance  ;  he  saw  that  Sardinia  had  a  paramount 
interest  in  excluding  Russia  from  the  Bosphorus  and  the  Dar- 
danelles, the  keys  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  that  the  time  had 
come  when  the  treaty  of  Vienna,  the  rock  on  which  Italy  had 
been  wrecked,  was  about  to  be  shivered  into  fragments.  He 
saw  that  in  the  approaching  contest  the  true  position  of  the 


46  TOUR   AVITH   THE    KING. 

State  was  that  where  it  might  dispute  with  Austria  the  benefits 
of  the  alliance  should  she  join  the  western  powers,  or  meet 
her  on  the  field  should  she  ally  herself  with  Russia.  While  he 
saw  that  it  was  only  through  foreign  alliances  that  the  ultimate 
destiny  of  the  nation  could  be  accomplished,  he  felt  also  that 
Sardinia  owed  it  to  herself  to  redeem  her  military  reputation, 
as  yet  obscured  by  the  defeat  of  Novara. 

With  these  views  Cavour  ardently  advocated  in  the  council  and 
the  parliament  the  policy  of  joining  the  alliance.  But  he  was 
met  with  violent  opposition.  It  was  regarded  as  sheer  madness 
to  engage  Sardinia  in  a  war  with  a  powerful  empire,  her  armies 
not  yet  organized,  her  finances  embarrassed,  and  Austria  threat- 
ening her  frontier.  It  was  urged  that  Russia  would  never  for- 
get the  unprovoked  insult,  and  that  whatever  might  be  the  re- 
sult of  the  conflict,  she  would  still  have  power  to  oppose  all 
future  attempts  to  secure  Italian  nationality,  while  on  the  other 
hand  the  allies  would  be  indifferent  if  not  hostile.  But  he 
was  inflexible ;  the  very  arguments  used  against  him  became 
weapons  in  his  hands,  and,  although  assailed  on  all  sides  by 
friends  and  foes,  he  defended  the  proposed  alliance  with  giant 
power,  and  succeeded  in  carrying  the  resolution.  The  treaty  of 
alliance  was  signed,  and  an  army  greater  than  had  even  been 
stipulated  was  dispatched  to  the  Crimea.  It  is  unnecessary  here 
to  speak  of  the  exploits  of  that  army,  which,  led  by  the  gallant 
Alfonso  Lamarmora,  called  forth  the  admiration  of  the  allies. 
The  day  when  the  Sardinian  troops  withstood  the  first  shock  of 
the  enemy  at  the  battle  of  Tchernaya,  and  so  bravely  contribut- 
ed to  his  defeat,  was  the  dawn  of  Italian  independence.  There 
in  the  far  east,  where  once  flourished  the  Italian  colonies,  Sar- 
dinia, by  the  side  of  the  French  and  English  armies,  conse- 
crated in  the  blood  of  her  sons  the  right  of  leadership  in  the 
national  cause,  and  won  the  recognition  of  that  right  from  the 
allied  powers. 

After  the  fall  of  Sebastopol,  Cavour  accompanied  the  king 
on  his  visit  to  France  and  England.  Everywhere  received  with 
marks  of  that  regard  secured  to  him  by  his  high  character  and 


THE   CONGRESS   OF   PARIS.  47 

position,  be  availed  himself  of  this  opportunity  to  unite  in 
closer  ties  of  friendship  the  house  of  Savoy  with  the  sovereigns 
of  those  countries,  and  to  place  before  the  representatives  of 
public  opinion  the  true  aspect  of  affairs  in  Italy,  as  yet  greatly 
misunderstood. 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  Sardinia,  notwithstanding  the  oppo- 
sition of  Austria,  was  admitted  on  a  footing  of  equality  with 
the  other  powers  in  the  congress  of  Paris,  and  Cavour  was  dele- 
gated to  represent  the  country  in  that  assembly.  His  extraor- 
dinary diplomatic  skill  was  never  more  conspicuous  than  on 
that  occasion.  Having  established  his  position  among  the  mem- 
bers of  the  congress,  and  conciliated  those  whom  he  wished  to 
make  friends,  he  induced  the  French  and  the  English  represent- 
atives to  bring  the  Italian  question  before  the  congress,  and,  for 
the  first  time,  the  voice  of  Italy  was  heard  in  the  councils  of 
Europe.  Without  expressing  his  highest  aspirations,  or  hint- 
ing at  territorial  changes  which  might  create  alarm,  Cavour 
confined  his  remarks  to  the  actual  condition  of  Sardinia  in  her 
relations  with  the  other  Italian  states.  He  maintained  that, 
surrounded  on  all  sides  by  Austrian  troops,  she  was  unable  to 
develop  her  institutions  and  resources ;  that  she  was  menaced 
alike  by  the  despotism  of  the  Italian  princes  and  the  revolution- 
ary spirit  which  it  engendered :  that  the  military  occupation  of 
the  duchies  and  the  legations  was  in  direct  violation  of  the 
treaties  which  guaranteed  their  independence ;  and,  pointing  out 
particularly  the  wretched  condition  of  the  papal  dominions,  he 
appealed  to  the  powers  of  Europe  to  put  an  end  to  abuses  which 
were  the  shame  of  civilization  and  a  permanent  source  of  dan- 
ger to  the  peace  of  the  peninsula.  Thus  pleading  the  national 
cause  from  a  conservative  point  of  view,  and  within  the  limits 
of  diplomatic  form,  the  Italian  statesman  obtained  a  hearing  in 
the  congress,  and  secured  the  sympathy  of  France  and  England. 
Although  the  Austrian  delegates  opposed  the  introduction  of 
that  subject  as  foreign  to  the  object  of  the  meeting,  the  dis- 
cussion was  carried  on  ;  and,  in  order  to  fix  the  attention  of 
those  two  powers,  he  addressed  papers  to  Count  Walewsky 


48  IMPENDING   REVOLUTION. 

and  to  Lord  Clarendon,  in  which  he  forcibly  reasserted  the 
claims  of  the  nation. 

Cavour  soon  after  laid  before  the  parliament  the  proceedings 
of  the  congress.  He  assured  the  chambers  that,  although  the 
opposition  of  Austria  had  prevented  the  passage  of  any  reso- 
lution in  favor  of  Italy,  the  Italian  cause  had  become  a  Euro- 
pean question  ;  he  declared  that  although  the  Austrian  and  Sar- 
dinian delegates  had  separated  without  personal  rancor,  yet 
each  felt  that  the  policy  of  the  two  nations  was  farther  than 
ever  from  approximating  ;  and,  pointing  out  the  dangers  of  the 
situation,  he  appealed  to  the  patriotism  of  the  parliament  to 
sustain  the  government  in  the  events  which  might  arise. 

The  course  followed  by  Cavour  in  the  congress  of  Paris  was 
approved  by  the  chambers,  and  received  with  patriotic  enthusi- 
asm by  the  country,  which  now  hailed  him  as  its  destined  de- 
liverer. From  all  parts  of  the  peninsula  addresses  were  presented 
to  him,  and  engravings,  statuettes,  and  medals  in  his  honor,  were 
distributed  over  the  land.  On  the  very  day  of  the  entrance  of 
Francis  Joseph  into  Milan,  the  Milanese  forwarded  to  the  corpo- 
ration of  Turin  a  large  contribution  for  the  monument  in  mem- 
ory of  the  Sardinians  who  had  fallen  in  the  Crimea.  Italians 
all  over  the  world  united  in  the  purchase  of  cannon  for  Alessan- 
dria, and  soon  that  fortress,  armed  with  guns  bearing  the  names 
of  New  York,  Boston,  San  Francisco,  and  other  cities,  frowned 
defiance  on  the  Austrian  frontier.  Meanwhile  the  Sardinian 
press  opened  a  more  fierce  broadside  against  Austria,  and  the 
numerous  refugees  who,  since  1848,  had  found  a  home  and  po- 
sition in  Turin,  began  to  look  toward  their  native  states  with 
hope  for  their  approaching  deliverance.  The  government  of 
Vienna,  on  the  other  hand,  felt  that  a  revolution  was  brooding, 
the  more  formidable  because  under  the  auspices  of  monarchical 
institutions.  That  an  insignificant  state  which  a  few  years  since 
had  been  entirely  under  her  control,  and  twice  crushed  beneath 
her  iron  heel,  should  dare  to  summon  the  Austrian  empire  be- 
fore the  bar  of  the  civilized  world,  and  to  denounce  it  as  the 
disturber  of  the  public  peace  and  the  violator  of  those  very 


IMPENDING   REVOLUTION.  49 

treaties  by  which  it  held  its  dominions,  was  more  than  the  proud 
house  of  Hapsburg  could  bear.  A  brisk  interchange  of  diplo- 
matic notes  between  Vienna  and  Turin  followed,  in  which  the 
pedantry  and  the  dulness  of  Count  Buol  were  ill-matched 
against  the  power  and  cutting  irony  of  Cavour.  At  length  the 
Austrian  charge  was  recalled,  and  one  fine  morning  it  was  whis- 
pered among  the  Turinese  that  Cavour  had  left  for  Plombieres. 

This  visit  to  Napoleon  had  been  planned  and  brought  about 
by  Cavour  himself;  and  it  was  on  this  occasion  that  the  prelim- 
inaries of  the  alliance  between  France  and  Sardinia  were  set- 
tled, and  the  marriage  of  the  Princess  Clotilde  with  Prince  Na- 
poleon determined  on,  as  the  symbol  and  bond  of  the  alliance. 
The  Emperor's  new  year's  greeting  to  Baron  Hiibner,  which 
gave  the  first  indication  of  the  approaching  storm,  is  yet  fresh 
in  our  memory. 

Whatever  might  have  been  at  that  time  the  opinion  of  Napo- 
leon on  the  possibility  of  avoiding  a  conflict  between  Austria 
and  Sardinia,  it  is  certain  that  Cavour  considered  war  as  inevita- 
ble. The  principles  represented  by  the  two  countries  were  so 
opposed,  and  their  estrangement  was  so  complete,  that  from  the 
first  he  saw  that  no  compromise  was  possible,  and  that  Italy 
must  submit  to  Austrian  rule,  or  be  free,  from  the  Alps  to  the 
Adriatic.  He  however  adhered  to  the  terms  of  mediation 
which  England  sent  to  Vienna,  and  afterward  to  the  proposal 
of  a  congress  made  by  Eussia,  simply  to  prove  to  Europe  that 
Italy  was  disposed  to  maintain  peace  if  by  peace  she  could  ob- 
tain satisfaction.  Meanwhile  he  availed  himself  of  the  delay 
to  allay  the  bitter  feeling  which  the  prospect  of  war  had  aroused 
in  England,  in  Germany  and  in  France,  and  to  prepare  for  the 
coming  crisis. 

Victor  Emmanuel,  in  his  address  to  the  parliament  in  the 
beginning  of  1859,  announced  that  the  political  horizon  was 
not  entirely  serene.  Professing  himself  not  insensible  to  the 
cry  of  anguish  which  reached  him  from  all  parts  of  Italy,  he 
pledged  himself  to  march  resolutely  forward  to  meet  the  events 
of  the  future,  "a  future,"  said  he,  "which  could  not  but  be 


50  INVASION  AND   WAR. 

prosperous,  since  the  policy  of  my  government  rests  on  justice, 
love  of  country  and  liberty,  and  on  the  sympathy  which  these 
ideas  inspire."  In  the  mean  time  Cavour,  holding  a  kind  of 
dictatorship  under  the  king,  was  vigorously  urging  on  prepara- 
tions for  war.  He  replenished  the  treasury,  increased  the  army, 
strengthened  the  fortifications,  reorganized  the  militia,  and  in- 
trusted to  Garibaldi  the  enlistment  and  command  of  the  volun- 
teers, who  from  all  parts  of  the  peninsula  were  flocking  to  the 
national  standard ;  while  in  his  foreign  policy  he  strove  to  se- 
cure the  friendship  or  at  least  the  neutrality  of  the  European 
governments,  and  to  cast  upon  the  court  of  Vienna,  where  it 
belonged,  the  responsibility  of  approaching  hostilities.  To  the 
same  end,  on  hi&  return  from  Plombieres,  he  had  made  a  tour  to 
Baden  to  visit  the  regent  of  Prussia,  and  had  granted  to  Eussia 
the  privilege  of  making  Yillafranca  a  coal  depot  and  a  har- 
bor for  her  steamers ;  a  concession  which  was  intended  both  to 
gratify  that  power  and  to  deal  a  blow  to  Austria,  whose  inter- 
ests in  the  Mediterranean  were  thus  counterbalanced  by  those 
of  a  rival  empire. 

The  circumstances  of  the  commencement  of  the  war  are  well 
known.  Cavour  had  given  promise  to  England  that  he  would 
abstain  from  any  hostile  demonstration  toward  Austria,  and 
France  had  declared  that  she  would  aid  Sardinia  only  in  case 
of  her  being  attacked.  But  while  the  preliminaries  for  a 
European  congress  were  under  discussion,  Francis  Joseph  sud- 
denly broke  off  all  negotiations,  and  sent  his  ultimatum  to 
Turin,  requiring  the  government  to  disarm  immediately,  on 
penalty  of  an  invasion.  With  this  arrogant  summons  Cavour 
of  course  declined  to  comply.  He  immediately  obtained  a  bill 
from  the  parliament  vesting  absolute  authority  in  the  king  dur- 
ing the  war,  assumed  the  control  of  the  war  department,  and 
placed  the  army  in  a  defensive  position.  On  the  29th  of  April, 
1859,  the  Austrians  crossed  the  Ticino,  the  French  troops 
hastened  across  the  Alps  and  the  sea,  and  the  trumpet  of  war 
echoed  through  Italy.  The  elements  were  against  the  enemy ; 
the  rains  which  had  fallen  in  torrents  had  swollen  the  rivers  and 


VILLAFRANCA.  51 

canals,  and  the  floodgates  and  dykes,  which,  divert  the  waters 
into  the  extensive  rice-fields,  having  been  removed  by  the  inhabi- 
tants, the  whole  country  was  inundated,  and  the  invaders  were 
prevented  from  marching  on  the  capital.  They  were  soon 
driven  from  the  territory,  and  within  sixty  days  the  victories  of 
Magenta  and  Solferino  brought  the  allied  armies  to  the  Mincio 
on  their  triumphant  way  toward  the  Adriatic. 

In  the  midst  of  these  splendid  victories,  the  news  of  the 
interview  at  Yillafranca  fell  like  a  thunderbolt  upon  Italy.  To 
Cavour  it  was  a  crushing  blow.  He  seemed  to  feel  the  concen- 
trated bitterness  of  the  nation.  Only  two  days  before,  he  had 
sent  his  greetings  to  his  countrymen  in  America,  and  pledged 
his  faith  that  the  final  triumph  of  the  common  cause  was  near 
at  hand  ;*  and  now  the  object  which  had  been  for  centuries  the 
aspiration  of  patriots  and  martyrs,  the  aim  of  his  hopes  and 
labors,  he  saw  vanish  at  the  very  moment  when  it  appeared 
almost  within  his  grasp.  The  cry  of  anguish  which  arose  from 
the  Italians  fell  upon  his  heart  like  a  reproach,  and  the  blood  of 
those  who  had  fallen  on  the  plains  of  Lombardy  cried  to  him 
from  the  ground.  The  very  darkness  in  which  he  was  left  as 
to  the  motives  of  the  peace  of  Yillafranca,  made  him  suspect 
that  Italy,  and  he  himself,  had  been  betrayed.  It  is  said  that 
for  a  time  he  seemed  to  have  lost  his  usual  self-control ;  that 
he  declined  an  interview  requested  by  the  emperor ;  that  he 
urged  the  king  to  reject  the  terms  of  the  peace,  to  recall  his 
army,  and  to  leave  Napoleon  to  his  designs.  Whatever  truth 
may  be  in  these  statements,  it  is  certain  that  as  soon  as  he  heard 
of  the  sudden  close  of  the  war  he  resigned  his  office  and  retired 
to  his  country-seat  at  Leri.  He  retired  to  decline  the  responsi- 
bility of  an  act  which  he  considered  disastrous  to  his  country, 
to  keep  aloof  from  all  arrangements  which  would  compromise 
the  national  movement,  and  as  a  private  citizen  to  exert  his  in- 
fluence over  the  people  in  that  course  of  moral  resistance  which 
was  to  follow.  "Writing  to  a  friend  a  few  days  after  his  retire- 
ment, he  said :  "  This  resolution  of  retiring  from  ofnce  has  not 

*  See  note  A. 


52  POLICY   OF   NAPOLEON. 

been  dictated  either  by  anger  or  discouragement.  I  have  full 
faith  in  the  triumph  of  the  cause  for  which  I  have  striven 
till  now,  and  I  am  still  ready  to  devote  to  it  what  little  of  life 
and  power  may  yet  be  granted  to  me.  But  I  am  profoundly 
convinced  that  at  this  moment  any  participation  in  public 
affairs  would  be  hurtful  to  my  country.  The  destinies  of  Italy 
have  been  transferred  to  the  hands  of  diplomacy.  I  am  in  bad 
odor  with  the  diplomatic  world ;  while  my  resignation  is  so  ac- 
ceptable that  its  effect  will  be  to  render  diplomatists  more  favor- 
ably disposed  toward  unhappy  central  Italy,  whose  destinies  they 
are  about  to  decide  on.  There  are  circumstances  in  which  a 
statesman  cannot  put  himself  too  prominently  forward.  There 
are  others  in  which  the  welfare  of  the  very  cause  he  serves  re- 
quires him  to  retire  from  notice.  This  is  the  demand  that  the 
present  condition  of  affairs  makes  upon  me.  A  man  of  action, 
I  retire  from  public  life  for  the  good  of  my  country." 

The  policy  of  Cavour,  both  before  and  after  the  peace  of 
Villafranca,  cannot  be  fully  understood  without  an  inquiry  into 
the  causes  which  led  Napoleon  to  engage  in  the  Italian  war, 
and  to  bring  it  to  so  sudden  a  close  before  its  object  was  accom- 
plished. That  the  alliance  between  him  and  Victor  Emmanuel 
was  due  in  a  measure  to  his  personal  attachment  to  the  cause 
of  Italy,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  Descended  from  a  family 
which  traces  its  origin  to  Tuscany  and  Venice,  and  nearly  allied 
to  the  great  Corsican,  he  had  been  brought  to  Italy  while  yet  a 
boy,  and  had  found  there  a  home  in  his  exile.  While  his  first 
impressions,  his  sympathies,  and  early  associations,  connected 
him  closely  to  the  country,  his  strong  passions  and  will,  his  deep 
and  tenacious  nature,  rendered  him  more  an  Italian  than  a 
Frenchman.  In  his  youth  he  had  belonged  to  the  society  of 
the  Carbonari ;  he  had  taken  a  prominent  part  in  the  revolution  of 
the  Eomagna,  in  which  he  had  lost  a  brother  ;  he  had  contracted 
many  warm  friendships,  cemented  by  the  perils  and  the  roman- 
tic adventures  incident  to  conspiracy.  To  this,  if  we  add  the 
numerous  ties  which  bind  the  family  of  the  Bonapartes  to  Italy, 
the  ideas  of  the  founder  of  the  dynasty  concerning  her  future 


POLICY   OF   NAPOLEON.  53 

destiny,  preserved  as  a  sacred  tradition  among  his  relatives,  his 
grateful  remembrance  of  the  services  and  fidelity  of  the  Italian 
soldiers  in  his  wars  with  Spain  and  Russia,  and  his  regrets,  more 
than  once  expressed  in  his  captivity,  that  he  had  done  no  more 
for  that  country,  we  may  safely  conclude  that  the  third  Napo- 
leon had  motives  sufficient  to  avail  himself  of  any  opportunity 
consistent  with  his  policy  for  promoting  the  interests  of  the 
Italian  nation.  His  policy,  happily,  was  entirely  in  unison 
with  his  feelings.  Although  by  the  Crimean  war  he  had  suc- 
ceeded in  breaking  up  the  alliance  of  those  powers  which  had 
guaranteed  the  execution  of  the  treaty  of  Vienna,  as  far  as  it 
regarded  territorial  arrangements  it  still  remained  in  force. 
His  dynasty,  however,  would  not  be  firmly  established  until 
Waterloo  should  be  avenged  by  the  complete  blotting  out  of 
that  treaty,  and  a  war  for  Italian  independence  offered  the 
readiest  means  for  producing  this  result.  To  accomplish  it  by 
an  attack  in  the  direction  of  the  Rhine  or  across  the  channel, 
would  have  brought  upon  him  a  European  coalition.  But  by 
striking  at  Austria  in  the  peninsula,  he  would  reach  the  power 
which  had  most  contributed  to  render  that  treaty  offensive,  and 
engage  in  a  cause  which  would  command  the  sympathy  and 
admiration  of  the  world.  In  any  event  he  would  be  able  to 
confine  the  struggle  within  the  limits  of  that  country,  and  thus 
avert  the  danger  of  a  general  war. 

But  there  were  other  reasons  which  influenced  Napoleon  in 
espousing  the  Italian  cause.  While  this  was  in  accordance  with 
his  feelings  and  his  dynastic  interests,  it  coincided  also  with 
the  traditional  policy  of  France.  France  has  not  only  been  at 
all  times  the  champion  of  civilization  throughout  the  world, 
but  has  been  always  hostile  to  the  domination  of  Austria  over 
the  peninsula.  The  geographical  and  ethnographical  affinities 
which  bind  France  to  Italy,  separate  both  from  Austria.  This 
antagonism  appears  throughout  all  French  history,  and  forms  one 
of  its  most  salient  characteristics.  Whenever  the  French  people 
have  risen  to  the  summit  of  power,  one  of  their  leading  objects 

has  been  the  reconstruction  of  Italy  as  a  nation.     To  this  <md 
5 


54  POLICY   OF   NAPOLEON. 

Henry  IV.  directed  his  genius ;  and  it  is  remarkable,  that  the 
first  step  he  proposed  toward  its  accomplishment  was  to  extend 
the  sway  of  the  house  of  Savoy  over  the  territory  held  by 
Austria.  Had  his  designs  been  carried  out,  had  not  the  dagger 
of  Ravaillac  cut  short  his  career,  Italy  would  have  been  prob- 
ably an  independent  nation  two  centuries  ago.  This  policy  was 
not  relinquished  with  the  death  of  that  great  king;  it  was 
favored  by  Richelieu,  and  nearly  accomplished  by  Louis  XV.  a 
century  later.  D'Argenson,  the  minister  of  that  monarch,  char- 
acterized by  Voltaire  as  fit  to  be  secretary  of  state  in  the  re- 
public of  Plato,  was  an  earnest  advocate  of  this  idea.  There 
were  then,  as  now,  not  wanting  in  France  narrow-minded  men, 
who  regarded  with  jealousy  the  growth  of  a  great  nation  beyond 
the  Alps ;  and  of  such  he  thus  writes :  "  They  may  quote  as 
much  as  they  please  the  saying  of  Cardinal  d'Ossat  about  the 
young  wolves  of  Savoy,  and  say  that  should  the  king  of  Sar- 
dinia become  so  powerful  we  would  be  obliged  to  fortify  Lyons. 
These  are  but  prejudices  instigated  by  the  hatred  of  Spain. 
There  will  be  still  in  all  cases  a  great  difference  of  power  be- 
tween Sardinia  and  France.  Our  danger  arises  only  from  one 
source,  the  house  of  Austria.  Neighbors  we  must  have,  and  noth- 
ing better  could  happen  to  us  than  that  the  small  states  should 
grow  at  the  expense  of  the  large  ones.  ...  It  would  be  glori- 
ous for  France  to  break  the  chains  of  Italy,  and  to  deliver  her 
from  the  yoke  of  Germany.  It  would  be  a  mortal  blow  to 
Austria,  as  it  would  restrict  her  power  within  her  own  limits. 
This  would  mark  a  great  era  in  the  history  of  France,  and  the 
king  would  gather  from  it  a  glory  which  would  render  his  reign 
illustrious  to  all  posterity.''* 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  this  same  idea  directed  the  policy 
of  the  first  Napoleon.  But  the  conqueror  of  Marengo,  in  his 
efforts  to  introduce  into  Europe  the  principles  of  the  French 
revolution,  was  obliged  to  disregard  the  rights  of  nationality. 

*  See  the  Memoires  du  Marquis  d'Argenson,  torn.  iii.  For  the  documents  relative 
to  the  traditional  policy  of  France  in  regard  to  Italy,  see  the  work  of  Canestrini ; 
Delia  Politica  Piemontese  nel  Secolo  xvii. 


POLICY   OF   NAPOLEON.  OO 

His  course  being  opposed  by  the  potentates  of  Europe,  lie  was 
forced  into  conquest  to  give  expansion  to  the  civilizing  influ- 
ences of  France,  and  to  defend  her  territory  from  threatened  in- 
vasion. Italy  thus  fell  under  his  power.  But  that  his  dominion 
over  the  peninsula  had  but  a  temporary  character,  and  that  it 
was  intended  to  prepare  it  for  its  own  independence,  he  himself 
declared,  not  only  at  St.  Helena,  but  as  early  as  1805,  when 
addressing  the  Italian  deputation  charged  with  offering  him  the 
crown  of  Italy,  he  said :  "  My  intention  has  always  been  to 
render  the  Italian  nation  free  and  independent.  I  accept  the 
crown,  and  will  preserve  it,  but  only  for  such  time  as  my  own 
interests  may  require."  The  predominant  idea  of  Napoleon  I. 
was  to  secure  the  preponderance  of  France  in  the  councils  of 
Europe,  under  the  ascendency  of  the  Bonaparte  dynasty,  and 
it  continues  to  be  that  of  the  present  emperor.  But  while  the 
former  strove  to  enforce  this  policy  by  gigantic  wars  and  con- 
quests more  in  accordance  with  his  own  tendencies  and  the  age, 
his  successor  proposes  to  accomplish  the  same  end  by  moral 
rather  than  by  physical  force.  Educated  in  a  more  refined 
civilization,  with  a  character  formed  in  exile  arid  misfortune, 
prone  to  trace  political  events  to  their  general  causes,  thoroughly 
imbued  with  the  views  of  his  predecessor,  yet  fully  aware  of 
their  shortcomings,  he  seeks  the  same  result  through  means 
more  in  conformity  with  the  present  time.  Conquest  would 
be  to  him  more  ruinous  than  it  was  to  his  great  relative.  The 
spirit  of  nationality  so  characteristic  of  our  day,  aided  by  the 
predominance  of  material  interests,  and  the  jealousies  and 
memories  of  the  past,  would  render  such  a  course  utterly  dis- 
astrous. In  proof  of  this  we  may  quote  his  own  words,  ad- 
dressed to  the  Italians  in  one  of  his  proclamations  during  the 
late  war :  "  Your  enemies,"  said  he,  "  who  are  also  mine,  would 
diminish  the  universal  sympathy  which  Europe  feels  for  your 
cause,  by  attempting  to  make  people  believe  that  I  make  war 
only  for  my  personal  ambition,  or  for  the  aggrandizement 
of  the  territory  of  France.  If  there  are  men  who  do  not  un- 
derstand their  age,  I  am  not  of  that  number.  In  the  present 


56  THE    EXPEDITION   TO    ROME. 

enlightened  condition,  one  is  far  greater  for  the  moral  influence 
which  he  is  able  to  exert  than  for  fruitless  conquests.  It  is 
this  moral  influence  that  I  seek  with  pride,  by  contributing  to 
render  free  one  of  the  most  beautiful  countries  of  Europe." 

The  central  idea  of  his  policy  could  not  be  more  clearly  and 
forcibly  expressed.  The  first  step  in  its  development  is  to  se- 
cure the  political  existence  and  power  of  the  Latin  races,  by 
uniting  them  in  a  confederation  headed  by  France,  and  eventu- 
ally to  be  augmented  by  others  belonging  to  the  Sclavonic  and 
Germanic  groups.  He  seeks  not  the  preponderance  of  France 
by  chaining  other  nations  to  her  car,  as  the  first  Napoleon  at- 
tempted to  do,  but  by  creating  such  circumstances  in  the  Euro- 
pean policy  as  to  induce  them  to  follow  her  course.  By  thus 
securing  allies  instead  of  rivals,  he  would  be  aided  in  carrying 
out  his  designs  for  the  advancement  of  civilization  throughout 
the  world,  and  in  actualizing  his  early  definition  of  the  empire : 
"L'empire  c'est  la  paix."  It  was  in  this  point  of  view  that  he 
formed  the  alliance  with  England,  and  courted  the  support  not 
only  of  Sardinia,  but  of  Naples,  Spain  and  Sweden ;  that  he  ex- 
erted his  influence  for  the  national  unity  and  independence  of 
the  Danubian  principalities,  favored  the  plans  of  Spain  in  Moroc- 
co and  Mexico,  and  proposed  her  admission  among  the  great 
powers ;  that  he  promoted  the  opening  of  the  isthmus  of  Suez, 
in  order  to  give  back  to  the  nations  situated  on  the  Mediter- 
ranean their  commercial  preponderance ;  that  he  joined  England 
in  the  war  against  China,  undertook  the  expedition  to  Syria, 
and  finally  engaged  in  the  cause  of  Italy,  and  both  in  war  and 
in  peace  made  himself  the  patron  of  her  nationality. 

The  expedition  against  Koine,  which  seemed  entirely  opposed 
to  this  object,  was  in  fact  a  step  toward  its  accomplishment. 
Although  that  event  took  place  under  the  presidency  of  Louis 
Napoleon,  it  had  been  matured  by  the  preceding  administration, 
and  was  forced  upon  him  by  the  legislative  assembly.  In  ac- 
cepting that  measure  he  obtained  the  support  of  the  clergy  and 
other  reactionary  parties,  consolidated  his  power,  gained  a  foot- 
hold in  the  very  heart  of  the  peninsula,  counterbalanced  the  in- 


NATIONAL   UNITY.  57 

fluence  of  Austria,  kept  open  the  Italian  question,  and  forced 
the  pope  to  assume  his  true  position  of  an  antagonist  to  modern 
civilization.  The  development  of  this  profound  policy  was 
necessarily  gradual,  and  little  calculated  to  inspire  confidence  in 
the  less  thoughtful  among  the  Italians,  to  whom  the  emperor 
appeared  as  the  accomplice  of  Austria,  the  upholder  of  the 
abuses  of  the  papal  government,  and  a  treacherous  and  formida- 
ble enemy.  The  bombs  of  Orsini  warned  him  that  the  time 
had  come  for  more  decided  action  ;  that  although  longer  delay 
might  contribute  to  his  security  at  home,  it  was  attended  with 
peril  from  abroad.  But  he  proved  on  that  occasion  a  true  friend 
to  Italy,  and  even  conveyed  the  assurance  of  his  friendship  to 
the  misguided  enthusiast  who  had  so  wantonly  sought  his  life. 
The  letter  which  Orsini  wrote  on  the  eve  of  his  execution,  in 
which  he  pointed  out  Napoleon  III.  as  the  coming  liberator  of 
Italy,  was  allowed  to  be  read  at  his  trial  and  to  be  published 
throughout  the  peninsula. 

The  motives  which  led  Napoleon  to  espouse  the  cause  of  Italy 
explain  the  policy  of  Cavour  in  securing  his  alliance.  We  may 
now  inquire  into  the  causes  of  the  peace  of  Villafranca.  It  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  the  object  of  the  alliance  between  France 
and  Sardinia  was  the  expulsion  of  Austria  from  Lombardy  and 
Yenetia,  and  the  consequent  aggregation  of  those  provinces  to 
the  dominions  of  Victor  Emmanuel,  as  the  first  step  toward  the 
reorganization  of  the  country.  But  as  the  war  progressed  a 
new  element  was  developed,  of  whose  existence  Cavour  had 
long  been  aware,  but  which  Napoleon  had  not  fully  counted 
upon.  This  was  the  growing  tendency  of  the  other  Italian 
States  toward  unification.  This  tendency  had  early  so  far  man- 
ifested itself  as  to  group  the  municipalities  into  states,  but  from 
various  causes  its  progress  had  been  arrested,  and,  crystallizing 
around  several  centres,  the  nation  up  to  this  time  had  remained 
divided.  In  1848  Cavour,  as  we  have  seen,  had  accepted  the 
idea  of  a  confederacy  as  the  only  policy  which  seemed  practi- 
cable, and  the  one  best  calculated  to  effect  the  ultimate  consoli- 
dation of  Italy.  It  was  fortunate,  however,  that  the  project 


58  NATIONAL   UNITY. 

failed ;  for  while  in  the  United  States  such  a  form  of  govern- 
ment is  a  necessity,  from  its  vast  extent  of  territory,  its  varied 
interests,  and  irresistible  force  of  expansion,  in  Italy  it  would 
be  undesirable  from  her  limited  area,  equal  only  to  that  of  the 
States  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  her  common  civilization, 
and  her  facility  of  intercommunication.  A  confederacy  among 
the  Italian  monarchies,  and  no  other  would  be  possible  at  present, 
by  multiplying  dynastic  interests  would  create  new  antagon- 
isms ;  and  thus  the  complications  and  the  dangers  inherent  to 
federal  institutions  would  be  vastly  increased.  Add  to  this 
that  the  States  as  they  existed  before  the  late  war  were  but  arti- 
ficial and  incomplete  aggregations  of  parts  of  the  nation,  with- 
out life  or  history  of  their  own,  and  that  the  cities,  the  only 
great  individualities  of  the  country,  could  not  properly  be 
subjected  to  any  other  organization  than  to  the  government 
which  represents  Italy  herself. 

In  the  civilization  of  the  present  day  great  states  alone  can 
compete  with  the  more  advanced  nations ;  and  the  Italian  peo- 
ple, receiving  a  new  impulse  from  the  free  institutions  of  Sar- 
dinia, now  rapidly  converged  toward  their  political  unity.  The 
Austrian  troops  had  not  yet  crossed  the  Ticino  before  the  cen- 
tral States,  abandoned  by  their  rulers,  hastened  to  place  them- 
selves under  her  protection,  and  Cavour  was  not  backward  in 
granting  it.  He  sent  commissioners  to  those  States,  organized 
new  governments  in  the  name  of  Victor  Emmanuel,  abolished 
the  custom-houses,  promulgated  the  Sardinian  laws,  and  pre- 
pared the  country  for  that  union  which  he  could  not  as  yet 
effect  in  an  official  capacity.  In  this  work  he  was  aided  by  the 
enlightened  co-operation  of  many  patriots,  and  particularly  of 
Baron  Kicasoli  in  Florence,  to  whom,  next  to  Cavour  and  Grari- 
baldi,  Italy  is  indebted  for  the  conquest  of  her  nationality. 
Descended  from  one  of  the  most  ancient  families  of  Tuscany, 
endowed  with  a  refined  and  cultivated  intellect,  a  stern  integrity 
and  an  indomitable  will,  and  exercising  a  commanding  influence 
over  his  countrymen,  Eicasoli  was  chiefly  instrumental  in  lead- 
ing Tuscany  forth  to  lay  on  the  altar  of  patriotism  her  tradi- 


THE   MYSTERY   OF   YILLAFRA^CA. 


59 


tional  glories,  and  to  merge  her  individual  life  into  that  of  the 
nation.  While  these  aupicious  circumstances  gave  promise 
that  before  the  close  of  the  war  a  great  part  of  the  country 
would  be  consolidated  into  one  free  government,  the  world  was 
startled  by  the  sudden  news  of  the  peace  of  Yillafranca. 

For  this  step  on  the  part  of  Napoleon  various  causes  have 
been  assigned,  prominent  among  which  was  his  supposed  desire 
to  check  this  unexpected  movement  of  annexation.  But  events 
have  proved  that  his  real  object  was  to  perfect  rather  than  to 
prevent  it.  The  emperor  could  not  oppose  the  acceptance  by 
Victor  Emmanuel  of  the  crown  of  Italy  without  violating  the 
principle  on  which  he  held  his  own ;  and  on  entering  Milan, 
while  exhorting  the  Italians  to  fly  to  the  national  standard,  he 
had  formerly  pledged  himself  not  to  interfere  with  the  wishes 
of  the  people  in  regard  to  their  future  organization.  Perceiv- 
ing now  that  a  confederation  would  not  be  accepted  by  the 
States,  and  knowing  that  their  union  would  enable  them  to 
achieve  their  independence  by  their  own  exertions,  he  had  the 
courage  to  cut  short  the  war  in  his  brilliant  career  of  victory, 
and  to  leave  them  to  accomplish  their  own  destiny.  The  con- 
tinuance of  the  war  might  free  Yenice  from  Austrian  rule ;  but 
it  would  at  the  same  time,  in  the  new  issue  which  had  arisen, 
involve  him  in  a  direct  conflict  with  the  pope,  whose  posses- 
sions had  been  already  encroached  upon,  a  conflict  which  would 
endanger  his  security  at  home  from  the  intrigues  of  the  clergy, 
and  other  parties  who,  though  indifferent  or  hostile  to  the  in- 
terests of  the  church,  would  gladly  avail  themselves  of  this 
pretext  to  plot  against  his  throne.  He  could  not  take  part  in  a 
direct  struggle  for  Italian  unity  without  openly  violating  inter- 
national law,  which  still  protected  the  Italian  princes,  thus  in- 
curring the  danger  of  a  coalition.  Such  a  course,  too,  would 
excite  the  opposition  of  certain  classes  in  France,  who,  although 
sympathizing  with  the  freedom  of  Italy,  regarded  with  jealousy 
the  prospect  of  her  consolidation  and  increasing  power.*  Add 
to  this,  that  in  view  of  the  possibility  of  a  long  resistance  on 

*  See  note  B. 


60  THE    MYSTERY   OF   VILLAFRANCA. 

the  part  of  the  enemy  intrenched  in  the  fortresses,  the  emperor 
had  early  entered  into  a  conditional  alliance  with  Kossuth  and 
other  popular  leaders,  for  the  purpose  of  promoting,  in  case  of 
necessity,  revolutionary  movements  in  Hungary  and  other  dis- 
affected portions  of  the  Austrian  empire.  A  continuance  of 
the  war  would  thus  greatly  widen  its  sphere  and  complicate  its 
results  ;  and  when  it  became  apparent  that  its  object  could  be 
accomplished  by  leaving  the  Italians  to  gain  strength  by  con- 
solidation, it  was  obviously  the  wisest  policy  to  avoid  the  im- 
pending dangers  of  coalition  and  revolution,  by  withdrawing 
from  the  field  at  a  moment  when  he  found  himself  in  a  position 
to  dictate  the  condition  certain  to  produce  that  result,  the  non- 
intervention of  Austria. 

Although  the  chief  object  of  the  peace  of  Villafranca  was  the 
independence  of  Italy,  to  be  won  by  the  Italians  themselves,  it 
secured  other  scarcely  less  important  ends.  The  problem  which 
Napoleon  III.  seems  to  have  proposed  to  himself  was  to  obtain 
the  maximum  of  results  by  the  minimum  of  war.  By  the  sud- 
den termination  of  the  campaign,  while  he  saved  himself  from 
the  risk  of  losing  what  he  had  gained,  he  prevented  at  once  the 
alliance  on  the  eve  of  being  consummated  between  Austria  and 
Prussia,  and  arrested  the  march  of  the  Prussian  troops  across 
the  Khine;  he  made  his  power  felt  by  the  governments  of 
Europe,  whose  interference  he  openly  disregarded  in  his  new 
territorial  arrangements;  and  having  checked  the  pride  of 
Austria,  he  won  her  friendship  by  his  magnanimity,  when,  dis- 
heartened by  a  series  of  defeats,  she  saw  herself  at  once  saved 
from  destruction  with  a  comparatively  small  sacrifice. 

On  his  return  from  the  Italian  campaign,  Napoleon  himself 
declared,  in  his  address  to  the  Corps  d'Etat,  that  although  he 
found  Europe  in  arms  ready  to  dispute  his  successes  or  to 
aggravate  his  disasters,  he  would  have  still  continued  the  war 
if  the  means  to  be  employed  had  not  been  disproportioned  to 
the  intended  result ;  that  prosecuting  the  struggle  on  the  Adige, 
he  would  have  been  obliged  to  accept  the  challenge  on  the 
Rhine,  strengthen  himself  by  an  alliance  with  revolution,  and 


CAVOUR  REINSTATED  61 

risk  what  a  sovereign  should  never  do  except  for  the  indepen- 
dence of  his  own  country ;  and  pleading  the  interests  of  France 
as  the  cause  which  had  induced  him  to  put  an  end  to  the  war, 
he  closed  his  address  with  the  following  words :  "  The  peace 
which  I  have  concluded,  as  every  day  will  reveal,  will  be  fruit- 
ful in  good  results  for  the  happiness  of  Italy,  the  influence  of 
France,  and  the  quiet  of  Europe."  Looking  now  to  Italy, 
united  from  Susa  to  Syracuse,  a  union  perfected  within  less 
than  two  years  from  that  time,  we  see  the  glorious  fulfilment  of 
those  prophetic  words ;  and  the  peace,  which  seemed  a  mortal 
blow  to  the  dawning  hope  of  the  Italians,  by  the  stipulation  at 
first  withheld  from  public  knowledge,  that  no  coercion  would 
be  employed  to  enforce  its  offensive  terms,  inaugurated  in  Italy 
the  great  principle  of  popular  sovereignty,  and  became  the  key- 
stone of  the  Italian  nationality. 

We  have  seen  that  Cavour,  on  withdrawing  from  the  cabinet 
after  the  peace  of  Villafranca,  retired  to  his  estate  at  Leri.  But 
he  still  remained  the  recognized  head  of  the  national  move- 
ment ;  and  his  opposition  to  that  act  before  its  full  significance 
was  disclosed,  added  to  his  popularity.  He  was  not  long,  how- 
ever, in  discovering  the  thread  of  the  apparently  tortuous  policy 
of  the  emperor,  and  he  eagerly  availed  himself  of  it.  From 
his  retreat  he  kept  up  a  constant  correspondence  with  the  lead- 
ers of  central  Italy,  urging  them  to  be  firm  and  uncompromis- 
ing. The  administration  of  Eattazzi,  who  had  succeeded  him, 
trammelled  by  embarrassments  of  all  kinds,  looked  to  Leri  for 
counsel  and  direction;  and  the  people  of  the  Tuscan  and 
JEmilian  provinces,  encouraged  by  his  example  and  strength- 
ened by  his  advice,  positively  refused  to  receive  back  their 
princes,  notwithstanding  the  urgent  entreaties  of  the  emperor, 
and  declined  to  adhere  to  any  plan  of  adjustment  but  that  of 
annexation  to  Sardinia.  At  this  crisis  Cavour  was  recalled  to 
the  cabinet ;  and  reassuming  the  presidency  of  the  council  and 
the  department  of  foreign  affairs,  he  at  once  dissolved  the  cham- 
ber elected  after  the  union  of  Lombardy,  caused  central  Italy 
to  be  divided  into  electoral  districts,  and  declared  to  the  powers 


62  SAVOY   AND   NICE. 

of  Europe  that  the  restoration  of  the  dukes  being  utterly  im- 
possible, and  any  other  arrangement  of  the  organization  of 
those  provinces  fraught  with  danger,  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  ac- 
cept on  behalf  of  the  king  their  union  with  Sardinia.  Na- 
poleon had  meantime  offered  new  propositions  to  Sardinia, 
which,  although  less  offensive  than  those  of  the  late  treaty,  were 
yet  opposed  to  the  absolute  annexation  of  Tuscany  and  the 
Eomagna.  But  Cavour  at  once  declined  them ;  and  proposed 
instead,  to  submit  that  question,  which  had  been  already  de- 
cided by  the  legislatures  of  those  States,  to  the  direct  vote  of 
the  people — thus  appealing  to  the  same  source  which  the  em- 
peror recognized  as  the  origin  of  his  own  power,  and  to  which 
he  had  just  proposed  to  refer  the  annexation  of  Savoy  and  Nice 
to  France. 

The  union  of  these  provinces  had  been  agreed  upon  at  the 
interview  of  Plombieres,  as  a  condition  of  the  alliance  which 
was  to  deliver  Lombardy  and  Venetia  from  the  Austrian  yoke. 
France  had  long  before  claimed  the  possession  of  Savoy  and 
Nice,  and  had  always  enforced  this  claim  whenever  a  favorable 
occasion  presented  itself.  Nice,  a  part  of  ancient  Provence, 
seemed  rather  allied  to  the  French  than  to  the  Italian  nation  ; 
and  Savoy,  in  geographical  position,  language,  and  interests, 
was  in  fact  but  a  French  province.  They  had  been  wrested 
from  France  by  the  treaty  of  Vienna,  and  Napoleon  was  now 
led  to  request  their  surrender  not  only  by  dynastic  exigencies, 
but  also  by  the  necessity  of  affording  compensation  to  the 
French  people  for  the  sacrifice  of  blood  and  treasure  which  the 
war  would  entail  on  them.  The  peace  of  Villafranca  having 
left  a  part  of  the  Italian  territory  in  the  possession  of  Austria, 
Napoleon  for  the  time  waived  his  claim ;  but  now,  as  the  an- 
nexation was  rapidly  progressing,  and  Sardinia  expanding,  he 
desired  that  that  stipulation  should  be  complied  with.  Cavour 
could  not  refuse,  consistently  with  his  principles  and  the  welfare 
of  his  country,  inasmuch  as  in  subjecting  the  cession  to  the 
vote  of  the  people,  the  right  of  popular  sovereignty  would  be 
maintained,  and  a  precedent  established  which  would  be  highly 


ANNEXATION  OF  CENTRAL   ITALY.  63 

advantageous  to  tlie  settlement  of  similar  questions  which  might 
arise  in  the  peninsula.  The  inhabitants  of  Savoy  and  Nice 
were  therefore  summoned  to  the  ballot-box  to  decide  whether 
they  would  belong  to  France  or  to  Italy.  An  overwhelm- 
ing majority  being  in  favor  of  French  rule,  those  provinces 
passed  under  the  dominion  of  the  empire,  while  Parma,  Modena, 
Tuscany,  and  the  Legations,  by  the  voice  of  their  people,  hailed 
the  young  chief  of  the  ancient  house  of  Savoy  as  king  of 
Italy. 

Such  was  the  first  great  achievement  toward  Italian  unity, 
which  early  in  1860  had  been  attained  chiefly  through  the  wise 
policy  of  Cavour.  Well  might  the  king,  in  addressing  the  new 
parliament,  congratulate  the  country  that  "  Italy  was  no  longer 
the  Italy  of  municipal  governments  or  that  of  the  middle  ages, 
but  the  Italy  of  the  Italians."  Attended  by  his  minister,  he 
departs  to  visit  the  new  dominions  which  not  the  sword  of  the 
conqueror  but  the  hearts  of  the  people  had  bestowed  upon  him. 
The  enthusiasm  with  which  the  illustrious  visitors  are  received 
in  the  new  provinces  exceeds  all  description.  Now  for  the  first 
time  the  sentiment  which  before  had  been  so  long  restrained  by 
the  boundaries  of  cities  and  states,  overleaps  all  barriers,  and  is 
merged  in  the  deep  emotion  of  patriotism ;  all  traces  of  ancient 
feuds  have  vanished ;  the  once  rival  cities  emulate  each  other 
in  their  expressions  of  mutual  affection.  Genoa  returns  to  Pisa 
the  chains  of  her  harbor  seized  centuries  before,  and  to  this 
time  held  by  that  city  as  a  trophy ;  the  sword  which  Castruccio 
Castracane,  the  Grhibelline  chieftain,  had  in  the  14th  century 
bequeathed  to  him  who  should  deliver  the  country,  is  now  con- 
ferred upon  Victor  Emmanuel ;  and  the  venerable  Niccolini, 
the  national  poet,  in  whose  patriotic  strains  the  fire  of  Dante 
still  burns,  hastens  with  tottering  steps  to  present  to  the  king 
his  master-piece,  "the  Arnaldo  da  Brescia,"  blessing  "the  kind 
fate  that  had  allowed  him,  before  his  eyes  close  on  the  sweet  air 
of  Italy,  to  see  the  aspiration  of  his  life  accomplished."  Let 
Parma  and  Modena,  Florence  and  Bologna,  deck  themselves  in 
their  splendid  array,  to  welcome  the  warrior  and  the  statesman 


64  GARIBALDI. 

who  have  given  to  them  national  life ;  let  the  people  tender  to 
them  the  triumphs  which  Eome  bestowed  upon  her  conquerors ; 
let  the  arts  revive  their  ancient  glory  and  lay  their  tributes  at 
their  feet ;  let  music,  painting,  and  poetry  celebrate  the  union 
of  central  Italy  with  Sardinia.  It  is  the  dawn  of  the  nation's 
birthday. 

But  another  act  of  the  great  drama  now  opens ;  another  hero 
now  appears  on  the  stage.  We  search  in  vain  the  archives  of 
history  for  heroic  deeds  and  marvellous  achievements  like 
those  which  a  little  more  than  a  year  ago  sent  a  thrill  of  admira- 
tion and  joy  through  the  hearts  of  all  the  friends  of  liberty  in 
both  hemispheres.  For  this  we  must  go  back  to  the  legendary 
ages,  when  the  gods  mingled  with  men,  the  ages  of  Hercules 
and  Theseus,  of  Odin  and  Thor;  and  when  centuries  shall 
have  passed  away,  and  Italy  shall  again  have  reached  the 
apex  of  her  greatness,  and  the  memory  of  the  great  chieftain 
shall  have  been  still  more  embellished  by  popular  imagination, 
the  name  of  Garibaldi  will  be  invested  with  mythical  glory 
surpassing  that  of  the  Cid  in  Spain  and  Jeanne  d'Arc  in  France. 
On  the  llth  of  May,  1860,  Garibaldi,  at  the  head  of  one  thou- 
sand patriots,  landed  at  Marsala.  He  came,  he  saw,  he  con- 
quered. Within  less  than  four  months  he  had  delivered  ten 
millions  of  Italians  from  the  hated  yoke  of  the  Bourbons. 

For  a  work  like  that  which  Garibaldi  accomplished  Cavour 
had  no  power.  A  statesman  far  removed  from  revolutionary 
impulses,  his  genius  consisted  rather  in  directing  events  than 
forcing  them.  Believing  in  the  ultimate  union  of  the  nation, 
his  original  plan  had  been  the  consolidation  of  northern  Italy 
into  one  kingdom,  which  should  gradually  absorb  the  entire 
peninsula.  But  the  peace  of  Yillafranca  having  defeated  that 
design,  his  next  object  became  the  annexation  of  central  Italy. 
The  instinct  of  the  people,  however,  outstripped  this  process  of 
gradual  absorption,  and  hastened  to  precipitate  an  immediate 
union  of  the  whole  country.  Of  this  instinct  Garibaldi  was  the 
great  representative.  Essentially  a  man  of  the  masses,  sharing 
their  virtues  as  well  as  their  faults,  with  the  heart  of  a  lion 


HIS   EXPEDITIONS.  65 

in  the  frame  of  an  athlete  ;  trained  amidst  the  tempests  of  the 
ocean,  and  on  the  battle-fields  of  the  old  and  new  worlds ;  and 
burning  with  the  fire  of  liberty  and  patriotism,  the  hero  of 
Caprera  became  the  leader  of  the  national  movement  at  the 
moment  when  it  began  to  assume  a  more  revolutionary  char- 
acter. 

This  brings  us  to  the  most  embarrassing  period  of  the  politi- 
cal career  of  Cavour.  On  one  hand  it  was  impossible  for  Sar- 
dinia openly  to  take  part  in  the  expeditions  of  Garibaldi  directed 
against  the  king  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  still  on  his  throne,  and 
holding  with  her  neutral  if  not  friendly  relations.  Such  a  step 
would  probably  have  induced  Austria  again  to  take  the  field, 
and  in  the  face  of  such  a  flagrant  violation  of  international  law, 
France  would  have  been  unable  to  protect  the  country  from  an 
armed  intervention.  On  the  other  hand  that  movement  could 
not  be  prevented  without  seriously  endangering  the  national 
cause.  The  idea  of  political  unity  had  taken  such  deep  hold 
on  the  public  mind,  that  any  attempt  to  check  its  development 
would  have  resulted  in  revolution.  Again,  the  court  of  Rome 
was  gathering  the  scum  of  Europe  to  its  support ;  and  having 
secured  the  services  of  General  Lamoriciere,  it  threatened  the 
new  kingdom  with  an  alliance  with  Francis  II.,  openly  support- 
ed by  Austria  and  other  powers.  In  this  emergency  Garibaldi 
appeared,  and  organized  his  expeditions  for  the  deliverance  of 
southern  Italy.  Although  his  success  might  be  doubtful,  his 
bold  attempt  would  spread  terror  among  the  enemy,  divide  the 
forces  of  Naples  and  Rome,  and  drive  them  from  their  threaten- 
ing attitude.  So,  without  either  encouraging  or  preventing  the 
departure  of  Garibaldi,  Cavour  awaited  the  events,  ready  to 
avail  himself  of  all  the  advantages  which  might  result  from  the 
daring  enterprise,  or  to  avert  any  danger  which  it  might  pro- 
voke. This  policy  evinced  scarcely  less  boldness  than  the  achieve- 
ments of  the  dashing  leader  himself.  The  principle  of  national 
rights  over  dynastic  interests  was  regarded  as  so  heretical  by 
the  cabinets  of  Europe,  that  it  was  only  due  to  the  skill  of 
Cavour  that  their  opposition  was  confined  to  protest.  By  ap- 


DO  CAVOUR  AND   GARIBALDI. 

pealing  to  their  conservative  tendencies,  and  by  representing 
that  an  effort  to  put  down  the  movement  by  force  of  arms 
would  cause  a  revolution  throughout  the  peninsula,  and  en- 
danger the  existence  of  monarchical  institutions,  he  saved  the 
expeditions  from  an  armed  intervention.  But  when  success  ap- 
peared certain,  Cavour  changed  his  policy  of  inaction  for  a 
course  of  active  sympathy,  and  not  only  allowed  volunteers  to 
depart  from  the  ports  of  the  State  and  subscriptions  for  their 
aid  to  be  widely  circulated,  but  he  himself  afforded  the  enter- 
prise direct  assistance. 

Before  the  war  of  1859,  Sardinia  had  proposed  an  alliance 
with  the  king  of  Naples  on  condition  of  his  granting  a  consti- 
tution to  his  people  and  joining  in  the  war  against  Austria. 
Hitherto  he  had  resisted  all  advances.  But  now  that  Garibaldi, 
having  possessed  himself  of  Sicily,  was  knocking  at  the  gates 
of  Naples,  Francis  II.  hastened  to  accede  to  those  terms,  and 
proposed  to  share  with  Sardinia  the  pontifical  dominions.  But 
it  was  too  late.  Since  the  war  had  commenced,  such  changes 
had  occurred  in  the  peninsula  that  Cavour  in  turn  declined  the 
proposed  alliance ;  and  as  England,  France,  and  Eussia  urged 
upon  him  its  acceptance,  he  wisely  insisted  on  delaying  all  ne- 
gotiations on  the  subject  until  that  sovereign  should  prove  him- 
self able  to  maintain  his  throne ;  and  in  the  mean  time  claimed 
as  a  preliminary  that  he  should  recognize  the  independence  of 
Sicily.  But  Garibaldi  left  no  time  for  decision ;  he  at  once 
made  his  triumphant  entry  into  Naples,  while  the  fugitive  king 
took  refuge  in  Gaeta. 

Between  Cavour  and  Garibaldi  there  existed  great  differences 
of  character.  The  one  was  endowed  with  comprehensive  gen- 
ius, with  a  clear,  keen  intellect,  that  neither  imagination  nor  im- 
pulse could  seduce ;  affluent,  aristocratic,  reserved,  often  satiri- 
cal and  imperious,  unyielding  in  his  opinions,  with  power  to 
bend  the  convictions  of  others  to  his  own ;  too  confident  in  him- 
self to  court  popular  favor,  and  devoted  to  labors  more  calcu- 
lated to  excite  the  admiration  of  the  thoughtful  than  to  dazzle 
the  multitude.  The  other,  of  more  limited  capacity,  but  of 


CAVOUR   AND   GARIBALDI.  67 

wider  sympathies,  was  ruled  by  imagination  and  impulse,  dis- 
posed to  regard  all  questions  from  a  single  point  of  view,  demo- 
cratic by  birth  and  principles,  of  Spartan  simplicity  of  life  and 
manners,  despising  rank  and  wealth,  kind,  straightforward, 
easily  influenced  by  all  who  approached  him  in  the  name  of 
patriotism,  and  from  his  wonderful  success  as  well  as  from  his 
rare  personal  qualities,  the  idol  of  the  masses.  Both  true  patriots, 
both  equally  courageous  and  energetic,  while  the  one  exerted  his 
genius  in  diplomatic  strategy,  the  other  was  engaged  in  irregular 
warfare.  Both  equally  ambitious  to  serve  their  country,  while 
one  accepted  the  honors  bestowed  upon  him,  the  other  disdained 
all  distinctions,  but  delighted  to  appear  in  public  in  his  worn 
red  shirt.  Both  of  sterling  integrity,  while  the  one  on  entering 
office  disposed  of  his  shares  in  the  public  stocks  to  place  him- 
self beyond  the  reach  of  suspicion,  the  other  during  his  dicta- 
torship received  but  two  dollars  a  day  from  the  public  treasury, 
and  after  conquering  a  kingdom,  retired,  like  Cincinnatus  of  old, 
to  his  farm,  to  live  by  the  labor  of  his  hands. 

These  characteristics,  combined  with  an  intense  hatred  of  all 
diplomacy,  produced  in  Garibaldi  a  personal  antipathy  to  Ca- 
vour,  which,  on  the  surrender  of  Nice  culminated  in  open  hos- 
tility. That  his  birthplace  should  have  been  ceded  to  Napoleon, 
whom  he  disliked  still  more  than  Cavour,  he  regarded  almost  as 
a  personal  insult ;  and  although  that  surrender  had  been  ap- 
proved by  the  parliament  and  the  king,  and  voted  for  by  the 
people,  Cavour  appeared  to  him  as  its  sole  author.  He  did 
not  see  that  had  Nice  been  refused,  the  Italian  cause  would  have 
been  endangered,  and  that  the  minister  who  should  have  incur- 
red the  responsibility  of  the  refusal  would  have  been  liable  to 
impeachment  as  a  traitor.  He  overlooked  the  fact  that  his  ex- 
peditions had  found  a  supporter  in  Cavour,  who  had  protected 
them  from  foreign  intervention,  and  that  it  was  in  no  small  degree 
due  to  his  efforts  that  he  was  enabled  to  enter  Naples  alone,  and 
to  be  received  with  open  arms  by  the  Neapolitan  troops,  who 
still  held  possession  of  the  city.  His  prejudice,  no  doubt,  was 
in  a  great  measure  the  effect  of  the  influences  by  which  he  was 


68  EVIL   INFLUENCES. 

surrounded.  He  had,  early  in  life,  been  connected  with  Mazzini, 
and  long  continued  to  manifest  his  sympathy  with  the  republi- 
can party.  But  when  Manin  the  Venetian  patriot,  urged  the 
union  of  all  parties  under  the  leadership  of  the  house  of  Savoy, 
he  renounced  his  former  alliance,  and  generously  gave  his  ad- 
herence to  the  constitutional  monarchy  of  Victor  Emmanuel. 
Later,  on  becoming  personally  acquainted  with  the  king,  he 
found  in  his  character,  simplicity,  straightforwardness,  and  patri- 
otism, much  that  was  congenial  to  himself,  and  he  conceived  for 
him  a  loyal  attachment.  This  course  was  at  the  time  bitterly 
condemned  by  his  former  associates,  and  by  Mazzini  himself. 
But  now,  in  the  hour  of  his  triumph,  those  who  not  long  before 
had  been  engaged  in  vilifying  his  name  in  Europe  and  in 
America,  flocked  to  Naples,  insinuated  themselves  again  into 
his  confidence,  and  by  playing  on  his  real  or  fancied  grievances 
strove  to  widen  the  breach  between  him  and  Cavour,  whom  they 
justly  regarded  as  the  great  supporter  of  constitutional  monar- 
chy, and  the  staunch  opponent  of  their  schemes.  Good,  unso- 
phisticated, generous,  and  new  in  the  art  of  government,  the 
hero  of  the  battle-field  became  a  child  in  the  hands  of  those 
adventurers ;  Naples,  and  Sicily  fell  under  their  control,  and 
exhibited  more  completely  than  ever  the  effects  of  that  disor- 
ganization to  which  they  had  been  previously  reduced  by  a 
long  reign  of  despotism.  From  Gaeta,  Francis  II.  now  threaten- 
ed an  invasion  of  his  former  dominions,  while  Austria,  from 
Verona  and  Mantua,  and  Lamoriciere  from  Ancona,  were  pre- 
paring to  act  in  concert  with  him.  In  this  state  of  things  it  was 
necessary  that  southern  Italy  should  at  once  declare  her  union 
with  the  northern  and  central  provinces,  and  thus  justify  the 
intervention  of  Sardinia,  by  which  alone  regularity  could  be 
introduced  into  the  administration,  and  the  invasion  resisted. 
The  great  majority  demanded  annexation  ;  but  Garibaldi,  who 
had  taken  possession  of  the  kingdom  in  the  name  of  Victor  Em- 
manuel, seemed  to  waver  between  his  former  adherence  to 
Mazzini  and  his  fidelity  to  the  king.  Pressed  by  public  opinion 
to  consult  the  vote  of  the  people,  he  at  last  consented  to  open  the 


A   MASTER-STROKE   OF   POLICY. 


69 


ballot-box,  but  only  on  condition  of  the  dismissal  of  Cavour  from 
the  cabinet.  Such  a  request,  destructive  of  all  constitutional 
liberty,  found  no  favor  with  the  king ;  and  Cavour,  receiving 
new  assurances  of  confidence  from  the  parliament,  decided  on  a 
bold  movement.  The  situation  was  growing  every  day  more 
alarming ;  while  anarchy  threatened  Naples,  the  mercenaries  of 
the  pope  were  pouring  in  from  all  quarters,  and  Garibaldi  himself 
was  held  in  check  on  the  Volturno,  the  republicans  began  to 
speak  openly  of  attacking  the  French  garrison  at  Rome  and  the 
Austrians  in  their  fortresses.  Baffled  in  their  plan  of  remov- 
ing Cavour  from  the  government,  they  prevailed  on  Garibaldi  to 
subordinate  the  annexation  of  southern  Italy  to  the  deliverance 
of  Home  and  Venice,  and  he,  in  fact,  proclaimed  that  he  would 
allow  the  union  to  be  consummated  only  when  he  could  crown 
Victor  Emmanuel  king  of  Italy  on  the  Quirinal. 

Cavour  saw  that  the  attempt  to  carry  out  this  plan  would 
bring  certain  defeat,  involve  Sardinia  in  a  war  with  Austria, 
break  up  the  French  alliance,  cause  the  abandonment  of  the 
non-intervention  policy,  and  probably  sacrifice  the  conquests 
already  achieved.  Had  Garibaldi  been  able  to  carry  out 
his  dream,  to  make  his  triumphal  passage  across  Umbria  and 
the  Marches,  rout  the  troops  of  Lamoriciere,  put  to  flight  the 
French  army,  expel  Austria  and  bring  aid  to  Hungary  and 
Poland,  his  very  successes  would  have  provoked  an  armed  inter- 
vention. His  triumphs  as  well  as  his  defeats  appeared  equally 
fatal  to  Italy.  There  was  no  time  to  lose  ;  "  If  we  do  not  reach 
the  Cattolica  before  Garibaldi,  we  are  lost,"  said  Cavour  to  a 
friend.  By  a  master-stroke  of  policy,  he  determined  at  once  to 
take  possession  of  Umbria  and  the  Marches,  push  forward  the 
army  to  Naples  and  Sicily,  and  to  wrest  from  Garibaldi  the  leader- 
ship of  the  nation.  The  deputations  from  those  provinces  demand- 
ing immedate  annexation,  were  at  once  favorably  listened  to, 
Cardinal  Antonelli  was  summoned,  in  the  name  of  Italy,  to  dis- 
band his  mercenaries,  the  Sardinian  army  crossed  the  frontier, 
and  the  fleet  set  sail  for  the  Adriatic.  We  need  not  here  describe 

the  victory  of  Castelfilarclo  and  the  siege  of  Ancona,  when  the 
6 


70  ITALY   UNITED. 

papal  army  was  scattered  to  the  winds,  Lamoriciere  taken  pris- 
oner, Perugia  avenged,  and  the  national  flag  unfurled  over  the 
papal  dominions.  Victor  Emmanuel,  at  the  head  of  his  troops, 
now  entered  the  Neapolitan  territory,  and,  on  approaching  the 
camp  at  Capua,  was  met  by  Garibaldi,  who,  amidst  the  enthusi- 
astic cheers  of  the  two  armies,  saluted  him  king  of  Italy. 

The  wisdom  of  the  policy  followed  by  Cavour  on  this  occa- 
sion can  only  be  questioned  by  those  who  make  the  principle 
of  nationality  subservient  to  the  interests  of  dynasties  and  to  the 
claims  of  despotism.  By  taking  possession  of  Umbria  and  the 
Marches  and  by  occupying  southern  Italy,  he  defeated  the  rash 
designs  of  the  republicans,  and  put  an  end  to  the  not  less  men- 
acing projects  of  Lamoriciere  and  Francis  II.  He  showed  also 
a  just  appreciation  of  the  character  of  Garibaldi,  on  whose  pa- 
triotism, loyalty,  and  generous  instincts,  he  confidently  relied ; 
and  he  was  not  mistaken ;  for  scarcely  had  the  king  announced 
his  intention  to  proceed  to  Naples,  when  the  great  chieftain,  lis- 
tening now  to  the  voice  of  his  heart,  at  once  summoned  the  peo- 
ple to  the  ballot-box,  and  the  annexation  being  voted  for  by  a 
large  majority,  he  at  once  resigned  his  dictatorship  and  retired 
to  his  humble  home. 

In  reviewing  the  events  of  1860  in  southern  Italy,  if  we 
were  unacquainted  with  the  actual  sentiments  of  Garibaldi 
toward  Cavour  and  his  aversion  to  all  diplomatic  artifice,  we 
might  suspect  that  he  had  purposely  allowed  the  irregularities 
of  his  administration,  and  menaced  Rome  and  Venice  for  the 
sole  object  of  alarming  the  European  powers,  and  thus,  of  pav- 
ing the  way  for  subsequent  events.  As  it  was,  it  is  due  to 
Cavour  that  great  impediments  were  turned  into  powerful 
means,  and  that  the  unity  of  Italy  was  secured  by  the  co- 
operation of  his  friends  as  well  as  by  the  opposition  of  his  foes. 

On  the  18th  of  February,  1861,  the  first  Italian  parliament 
representing  united  Italy  convened  in  the  old  capital  of  Sardin- 
ia. The  roar  of  the  cannon  which  celebrates  its  first  meeting 
mingles  with  that  which  announces  the  fall  of  Gaeta ;  the  sound 
echoes  throughout  the  peninsula,  and  bears  to  Austria  and  the 


VENICE.  71 

papacy  a  warning  of  their  approaching  downfall.  Italy  at  last 
revives;  she  revives  in  the  unity  of  her  people,  her  constitution 
and  monarchy.  She  rises  from  beneath  the  ruins  of  the  thrones 
which  crushed  her,  the  barriers  which  divided  her,  and  takes 
her  place  among  nations.  Her  standard  proudly  waves  from 
Milan  to  Palermo ;  her  army  marches  in  triumph  from  Monte 
Eosa  to  the  JEtna;  her  navy  rides  joyfully  on  the  Mediter- 
ranean and  the  Adriatic.  Now,  for  the  first  time,  the  country- 
men of  Alfieri  and  Parini  take  their  seats  by  the  side  of  those 
of  Yico  and  Tasso ;  the  countrymen  of  Ariosto  and  Yolta  with 
those  of  Dante  and  Galileo.  But,  alas !  we  look  in  vain  in  the 
parliament  of  the  nation  for  the  representatives  of  Venice  and 
Eome.  The  lion  of  St.  Mark  is  still  chained  to  the  throne  of 
the  Hapsburgs  ;  the  keys  of  St.  Peter,  the  emblem  of  the  thral- 
dom of  Italy,  still  hang  on  the  walls  of  the  Vatican. 

The  deliverance  of  these  noble  provinces  now  became  the 
chief  object  of  Cavour.  He  was  not,  however,  permitted  to 
carry  out  his  grand  designs.  He  led  the  people  forth  from 
their  captivity  to  a  height  from  whence  the  promised  land  lay 
stretched  out  before  their  gaze ;  but,  like  the  prophet  of  old, 
he  fell  at  the  very  entrance,  bequeathing  to  his  successors  the 
glory  of  completing  his  great  work.  The  principles  by  which 
this  was  to  be  accomplished,  Cavour  himself  laid  down,  in  one 
of  his  later  and  more  comprehensive  efforts,  before  the  parlia- 
ment now  assembled. 

Venice,  the  illustrious  martyr,  which  had  been  sacrificed  by  the 
peace  of  Villafranca  for  the  sake  of  the  whole  nation,  must  be 
rescued,  he  urged,  either  by  purchase  or  conquest ;  the  country 
speedily  organized  and  strengthened  in  its  military  resources 
and  alliances ;  and  as  an  immediate  war  for  the  conquest  was 
impossible,  from  the  want  of  preparation  at  home,  and  the  state 
of  public  sentiment  abroad,  he  advocated  the  necessity  of  pro- 
ducing a  change  in  this  respect,  by  proving  to  the  world  the 
ability  of  the  Italians  to  form  a  united,  strong,  and  independent 
nation,  based  on  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  people,  and  to 
accomplish  by  themselves  that  great  enterprise.  Italy  might 


72  ROME   THE   CAPITAL   OF   ITALY. 

thus  effect  the  deliverance  both  of  Venice  and  Rome  when- 
ever the  favorable  moment  should  arrive. 

Rome,  the  immortal  city  which  has  for  so  many  centuries 
concentrated  in  herself  the  history  of  all  Italy,  for  her  glories, 
magnificence  and  position,  is  the  natural  capital  of  the  kingdom. 
The  other  cities,  jealous  of  supremacy  among  themselves,  yield 
precedence  to  her  which  they  acknowledge  as  the  head  of  the 
country,  the  symbol,  the  centre,  and  the  complement  of  Italian 
unity,  but  which  a^  a  papal  city  inevitably  becomes  the  antago- 
nist of  the  national  spirit  and  the  stumbling-block  of  national 
liberty.  When,  therefore,  the  union  had  been  sanctioned  by 
the  vote  of  the  two  houses,  and  measures  introduced  for  its 
consummation,  the  parliament  at  once  proclaimed  Rome  the 
seat  of  government,  and  urged  the  administration  to  enforce 
this  claim.  This  resolution  was  brought  forward  by  the  advice 
of  Cavour ;  and  the  speeches  which  he  delivered  on  that  occa- 
sion, among  the  last  of  his  parliamentary  career,  were  character- 
ized by  a  peculiar  clearness  and  force  of  language,  breadth  of 
thought,  and  earnestness  of  purpose.  Dwelling  on  the  neces- 
sity of  uniting  Rome  to  the  nation,  and  thus  of  restoring  that 
glorious  city  to  civilization,  in  the  name  of  Turin,  to  which  he 
was  attached  by  interest  and  affection,  he  declared  that  the  pres- 
ent capital,  which  for  the  last  thirteen  years  had  nobly  borne 
the  burden  of  the  national  struggle,  was  ready  to  submit  to 
this  last  great  sacrifice,  and  for  the  sake  of  Italy  cheerfully  to 
waive  her  claims  in  behalf  of  the  ancient  city  of  the  Caesars. 

Since,  then,  national  right  demanded  the  possession  of  Rome, 
it  remains  to  be  seen  how  Cavour  proposed  to  effect  it.  He  be- 
held enthroned  in  the  Vatican  the  successor  of  an  unbroken  line 
of  pontiffs  reaching  far  back  almost  to  the  dawn  of  Christianity ; 
the  priest-king  who  holds  a  double  sceptre  in  the  name  of  the 
Almighty,  and  represents  an  institution  which,  though  tottering 
and  crumbling  under  the  weight  of  many  centuries,  is  sustained 
by  a  vast  hierarchy,  by  time-honored  maxims,  by  religious 
aspiration  and  saintly  abnegation,  as  well  as  by  superstition, 
party  spirit,  and  political  intrigue.  He  saw  the  papal  throne, 


THE   PAPACY.  73 

detested  by  the  Italian  people,  under  the  protection  of  France, 
to  whose  alliance  their  late  conquests  were  chiefly  due.  To 
abandon  Eome  to  the  church  was  to  sacrifice  the  rights  of  the 
nation ;  to  take  possession  of  that  capital  was  to  incur  the  op- 
position of  Napoleon,  who  declared  that  he  would  withdraw  his 
troops  only  when  the  independence  of  the  pope  should  be 
established.  To  secure  this  independence,  Cavour  now  proposed 
to  introduce  into  Italy  the  principle  of  a  free  church  in  a  free 
state  ;  a  measure  which,  while  it  would  restrict  the  pope  to  the 
exercise  of  his  legitimate  power,  would  deprive  him  of  his  politi- 
cal pretensions,  restore  Eome  to  the  nation,  and  give  freedom 
both  to  the  church  and  the  people.  In  this  proposal  Cavour 
aimed  rather  at  political  than  at  social  results.  But  the  issue 
involved  in  his  reform  is  subordinate  to  high  principles  of  social 
philosophy,  and  it  is  only  by  examining  it  in  relation  to  those 
principles  that  the  significance  of  his  formula  may  be  fully  un- 
derstood. The  recognition  of  a  free  church  in  a  free  state  not 
only  implies  the  overthrow  of  the  temporal  power  of  the  papacy, 
but  is  a  direct  denial  of  its  spiritual  sovereignty,  which  is  the 
antithesis  of  the  intellectual  and  religious  freedom  embodied  in 
that  reform,  and  which  is  the  distinguishing  characteristic  of 
modern  society.  A  passing  glance  at  the  origin  and  historic 
development  of  the  papal  institution  will  indicate  its  true  posi- 
tion in  reference  to  modern  civilization,  and  the  conditions 
under  which  that  reform  may  be  carried  out. 

The  social  mission  of  Christianity  was  to  unite  the  race  not 
by  conquest,  but  by  moral  agencies  calculated  to  bring  mankind 
within  the  pale  of  a  higher  civilization ;  and  for  this  end  it  was 
necessary  that  the  Christian  system  should  maintain  that  unity 
which  is  the  basis  of  all  scientific  theories  as  well  as  of  religious 
institutions.  But  its  internal  unity  being  early  impaired  by 
the  introduction  of  new  elements  freely  borrowed  from  pagan 
symbolism  and  Judaic  legends,  and  by  the  springing  up  of 
numerous  heresies,  Christianity  gradually  expanded  into  an  out- 
ward organization,  which  assumed,  in  addition  to  its  religious 
prerogatives,  legislative  and  political  functions.  At  first  demo- 


74          THE  PAPACY  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES. 

cratic,  then  aristocratic,  it  finally  culminated  in  a  monarchy  with 
the  Bishop  of  Borne  at  its  head,  who  was  soon  recognized  as  the 
spiritual  king  of  Christendom,  the  divinely  appointed  interpre- 
ter of  the  Christian  faith,  the  centre  and  the  symbol  of  religious 
unity.  This  transformation  took  place  in  an  age  when  religion 
controlled  all  individual  and  social  life ;  when  theology  was  the 
synthesis  of  all  science,  canon  law  the  only  existing  code,  and 
the  church  the  only  spiritual  agency.  The  pope  thus  came  to 
be  regarded  as  the  exponent  of  civilization,  the  source  of  all 
law,  order,  and  authority,  the  uniter  and  ruler  of  mankind. 
Although  his  empire  was  essentially  spiritual,  it  extended  over 
all  departments  of  life ;  for  sovereignty  over  the  soul  of  man 
implies  sovereignty  over  the  body,  which  is  the  condition  of 
the  soul's  manifestation.  This  claim  to  spiritual  and  universal 
power  is  the  central  idea  in  the  history  of  the  papacy.  It  first 
asserted  itself  in  the  pontificate  of  Gregory  the  Great ;  it  inspired 
Gregory  VII.  and  Innocent  III.  ;  it  animated  the  long  struggle 
against  the  empire ;  it  brought  to  the  holy  see  princely  donations 
of  revenue  and  territory;  it  enabled  the  Riarios,  the  Borgias, 
the  Medicis,  and  the  Farnesi  to  conquer  by  violence  and  fraud 
a  kingdom  in  the  very  heart  of  the  peninsula;  it  kindled  the 
fires  of  the  inquisition;  it  proscribed  the  writings  of  Galileo 
and  the  poetry  of  Milton ;  it  made  permanent  the  intervention 
of  foreign  armies  in  Italy,  stimulated  the  division  of  her  terri- 
tory and  her  people,  and  quenched  their  aspirations  in  the  blood 
of  patriots  and  martyrs.  The  same  spirit  now  leads  Pius  IX. 
to  resist  the  advancing  waves  of  modern  civilization,  and  causes 
him  to  oppose  Victor  Emmanuel  in  the  reconstruction  of  Italy 
as  a  nation,  as  his  predecessors  opposed  the  Longobard  kings, 
Frederick  II.,  King  Arduin,  and  other  noble  princes  who  strove 
to  achieve  the  same  object. 

In  the  infancy  of  modern  nations,  the  papal  sovereignty, 
although  involving  spiritual  servitude,  was  legitimate,  because 
the  papacy  represented  the  mind  of  humanity,  and  was  the 
only  existing  agency  of  progress.  Then  it  stood  forth  the  sole 
antagonist  of  the  prevailing  barbarism,  the  only  beacon  of  moral 


THE   PAPACY  AND   MODEKN  CIVILIZATION.  i5 

and  intellectual  light.  It  preserved  the  treasures  of  Greek  and 
Koman  genius,  fostered  science,  established  the  universities  of 
Europe,  summoned  the  arts  to  do  homage  to  Christianity,  and 
reared  cathedrals  and  monuments  in  its  honor ;  it  sent  forth 
armies  of  apostles  throughout  the  world,  and  employed  all 
human  and  divine  powers  for  the  moral  education  of  man.  Then 
the  successors  of  St.  Peter  held  in  truth  the  keys  of  heaven 
and  hell ;  they  could  arm  the  people  and  drain  the  treasuries  of 
Europe  for  their  holy  wars,  distribute  continents  and  crowns 
among  subject  kings,  cause  emperors  to  kneel  abjectly  at  their 
feet,  and  nations  to  tremble  at  their  wrath. 

But  with  the  advance  of  civilization,  when  new  principles  and 
new  forces  were  evolved,  and  new  forms  of  society  appeared,  the 
papal  power  began  to  decline,  as  paganism  had  declined  at  the 
approach  of  Christianity.  When  the  revival  of  letters  awoke  the 
human  intellect  from  its  long  slumber,  and  the  invention  of 
printing  opened  the  channels  of  thought ;  when  the  discovery  of 
America  widened  the  field  of  man's  activity,  and  new  languages 
became  the  germs  of  new  nationalities,  Rome  ceased  to  be  the 
centre  of  the  moral  world,  and  the  voice  of  the  great  reformer 
found  an  echo  in  the  hearts  of  the  people.  The  reformation 
was  the  dawn  of  the  great  era  of  spiritual  emancipation ;  to  the 
papal  authority  it  opposed  the  light  which  'lighteth  every  man 
that  cometh  into  the  world ;"  to  the  rites  of  the  church,  the 
efficacy  of  moral  agencies  ;  to  the  perpetuity  of  the  priesthood  and 
the  ecclesiastical  votes,  the  everlasting  responsibility  of  the  human 
conscience  ;  and  to  the  hierachy  the  equality  of  men.  Scholars, 
jurisconsults,  and  statesmen  eagerly  accepted  the  new  principles  ; 
universities  and  legislative  codes  were  enfranchised  ;  ihe  auton- 
omy of  the  state  was  affirmed,  the  right  of  popular  sovereignty 
asserted,  and  the  revolutions  of  England,  France,  and  America 
followed  as  successive  acts  of  the  great  drama  which  opened  with 
the  burning  of  the  bull  of  Leo  before  the  gates  of  Wittenberg. 
The  supremacy  of  human  reason  and  of  conscience  was  estab- 
lished ;  heresy,  no  longer  a  crime,  became  a  sacred  right,  and 
the  abandonment  of  an  institution,  now  a  barrier  to  human 


76          INEVITABLE  LOGIC  OF  THE  PAPACY. 

progress,  a  moral  obligation.  New  methods  and  new  sciences 
arose ;  a  new  literature  and  a  new  philosophy  appeared ;  and 
Shakespeare,  Groethe,  Kant,  and  Hegel  were  hailed  as  kings 
and  lords  of  the  human  mind.  Now  the  press  supersedes  the 
oracle  of  St.  Peter;  priests,  bishops,  and  councils  give  way  to 
men  of  science,  to  scholars,  artists,  statesmen,  and  parliaments. 
Political  economy  succeeds  theology  ;  industrial  and  commercial 
activity  displaces  the  old  asceticism ;  new  and  more  Christian 
codes  are  promulgated ;  the  ballot-box  supplants  the  papal 
bull ;  physical  science  develops  new  forces  more  spiritual  than 
those  of  the  legendary ;  the  steam-engine  and  the  electric  tele- 
graph prove  far  more  beneficial  to  mankind  than  all  the  bless- 
ings dispensed  "  Urbi  and  Orbi"  from  the  Vatican ;  and  while 
an  ambiguous  word  from  the  lips  of  Napoleon  or  the  seizure 
of  two  rebel  slaveholders  by  an  American  commodore  spread 
alarm  and  consternation  throughout  Europe,  all  the  maledic- 
tions of  Pius  IX.,  and  the  once  dread  thunders  of  Home  fall 
harmlessly  upon  an  age  which  listens  to  them  only  with  pity 
or  scorn. 

The  papacy,  resting  on  principles  which  are  in  direct  antag- 
onism to  those  of  modern  civilization,  and  having  thus  lost 
its  hold  on  public  opinion,  has  ceased  to  be  a  spiritual  power, 
and  is  reduced  to  a  mere  external  establishment.  It  is  not  am- 
bition nor  obstinacy  which  places  Pius  IX.  in  opposition  to  our 
age ;  but  it  is  the  duty  of  his  position,  the  inevitable  logic  of 
the  system  which  he  represents,  the  nature  of  the  power  which 
he  claims  to  have  inherited  from  his  predecessors.  Should  he 
admit  the  pre-eminence  of  individual  reason  over  his  authority, 
religious  freedom,  the  freedom  of  the  press,  the  sovereignty  of 
the  people,  and  other  axioms  of  social  science,  he  would  at  once 
renounce  his  pretensions  to  spiritual  sovereignty,  and  cease  to 
be  pope.  Claiming  to  enjoy  the  exclusive  possession  of  immut- 
able truth,  to  be  the  supreme  guardian  of  justice,  and  to  have 
the  right,  if  not  the  power  to  enforce  his  faith  upon  mankind, 
"the  supreme  pontiff  cannot,"  says  Pius  IX.,  in  one  of  his  last 
allocutions,  "  stretch  out  his  right  hand  of  friendship  toward  the 


A   FREE    CHURCH.  77 

civilization  of  the  present,  stoop  to  conditions  with  it,  or  bind 
himself  to  alliance  therewith."  This  antagonism,  which  is  in- 
herent to  the  papal  institution,  is  still  more  clearly  defined  by 
Gregory  XVI. ,  one  of  the  most  learned  divines  who  has  ever 
filled  the  papal  chair,  when  in  his  encyclical  letter  of  1832,  he 
declares,  that  "  the  universal  church  is  distracted  by  whatever 
is  new;"  that  "the  regeneration  of  the  church  is  simply  absurd 
and  injurious;"  that  "the  opinion  purporting  that  salvation 
may  be  secured  through  all  Christian  communions,  provided 
man  lives  honestly  and  rightly,  is  a  perverse  doctrine  propa- 
gated by  the  artifices  of  bad  men;"  that  "the  freedom  of  con- 
science is  not  only  an  absurd  and  erroneous  maxim,  but  a  de- 
lirium ;"  that  "  the  freedom  of  the  press  is  a  baleful  liberty,  for 
which  one  cannot  feel  too  much  horror  ;"  that  "  the  separation 
of  the  state  from  the  church,  is  injurious  to  both  ;"  that  "  civil 
authority  is  given  to  governments,  not  only  for  temporal  objects, 
but  more  particularly  for  the  defence  of  the  church ;"  and 
finally,  that  "the  right  of  revolution  is  condemned  by  all 
human  and  divine  laws." 

Such  is  the  attitude  of  the  papal  church  in  relation  to  the 
civilization  of  the  19th  century.  From  its  long  domination, 
its  assumption  of  divine  prerogatives,  and  its  denunciation 
of  all  reforms  as  attacks  upon  religion,  the  papacy  in  Italy 
has  become  identified  with  Christianity,  which,  as  a  religious 
faith,  has  now  reached  that  point  of  decline  which  the  pagan- 
ism of  Rome  had  attained  in  the  age  of  Trajan — it  has  become 
an  external  and  sensuous  worship  with  the  people,  a  subject  of 
scepticism  and  indifference  with  the  enlightened  classes,  and  a 
matter  of  policy  with  the  government.  The  assertion  of  Ma- 
chiavelli,  at  the  close  of  the  loth  century,  that  "  it  was  to  the 
church  that  the  Italians  owed  the  loss  of  their  religion  as  well 
as  the  divisions  of  their  country,"*  is  even  more  true  in  our  day. 
The  identification  of  the  genuine  catholic  elements  of  Chris- 
tianity with  what  is  purely  exclusive  and  sectarian  in  the  Ro- 
man church,  has  not  only  led  to  the  degeneracy  of  the  religious 

*  Machiavelli  Discorsi  sopra  la  Prima  Deca  di  T.  Livio.     Lib.  L,  cap.  12. 


78  A   FREE   STATE. 

sentiment  of  the  people,  but  it  strengthens  now  the  pretensions 
of  the  pope,  and  weakens  the  position  of  the  Italian  government 
in  their  struggle  for  the  possession  of  Kome.*  As  long  as  the 
papacy  is  identified  with  Christianity,  all  attempts  to  reconcile 
the  church  with  the  highest  Christian  civilization  to  which  Italy 
aspires,  must  necessarily  fail.  The  late  proposal  to  guarantee 
to  the  pope  the  privileges  of  sovereignty,  to  his  cardinals  the 
dignity  of  princes,  and  to  sustain  his  court  from  the  finances 
of  the  State,  ib  obviously  in  direct  opposition  to  religious  free- 
dom, which  recognizes  no  privileged  sect  and  excludes  all  taxa- 
tion for  religious  purposes;  neither  will  such  concessions  satisfy 
the  claims  of  the  church  or  the  religious  and  political  interests 
of  the  country.  The  church  can  only  be  reconciled  with  the 
freedom  of  Italy,  by  cutting  off  the  papal  excrescence,  and  re- 
turning to  its  primitive  organization  ;  by  recognizing  its  depen- 
dence on  the  state  in  all  civil  matters  ;  by  restoring  the  right 
of  election  to  the  clergy  and  the  people ;  'by  finding  its  support 
in  voluntary  contributions  ;  by  transforming  the  hierarchy  from 
a  caste,  which,  in  the  words  of  Eosmini,  "is  now  divided  from 
society  at  large,  with  interests,  language,  laws,  and  customs  of 
its  own,"f  into  a  free  and  independent  ministry ;  by  adopting, 
in  short,  the  constitution  of  the  principal  churches  in  the 
United  States,  which  finds  its  model  in  the  apostolic  times. 
Thus  transformed,  the  freedom  of  the  church  would  be  secured 
by  the  free  institutions  of  the  state,  the  only  guarantee  which  a 
genuine  Christian  church  can  demand,  or  a  free  government  can 
give.  But  these  reforms,  which  would  destroy  the  existing 
papacy,  it  is  in  vain  to  expect ;  and  it  is  therefore  impossible 
for  the  state  to  abandon  those  rights  over  the  church  which 
are  its  only  security  against  the  encroachments  of  an  institution 
which  now,  more  than  ever,  is  plotting  against  its  liberties. 

Whatever  policy  may  be  followed  in  regard  to  the  papacy, 
whether  the  Eoman  question  will  be  solved  before  or  after  the 
death  of  the  present  pope,  Home  cannot  long  continue  a  papal 

*  See  note  C. 

f  Le  Cinque  Piaghe  della  Cliiesa  di  Antonio  Rosmirii.      Cap.  I.     See  note  D. 


A   FKEE   STATE.  79 

city,  surrounded  as  she  is  by  a  free  nation.  Meanwhile,  Italy, 
to  achieve  the  freedom  of  the  state,  must  proclaim  the  spiritual 
sovereignty  of  the  individual  conscience,  the  sole  sovereignty 
under  God,  and  thus  secure  the  freedom  of  the  citizens  in  re- 
ligious matters.  No  truth  is  more  clearly  demonstrated  by 
modern  philosophy  than  that  religious  opinions  belong  essen- 
tially to  the  individual,  and  that,  the  state  being  incompetent 
to  regulate  the  external  acts  dependent  on  those  opinions,  the 
existence  of  a  national  church  or  of  a  state  religion  is  in- 
compatible with  free  institutions.  The  power  of  the  Eoman 
emperors  extended  over  the  body  and  soul  of  the  subject ; 
but  Christianity  appeared  to  set  free  the  divine  element  of 
the  human  mind,  and  to  assert  its  natural  sovereignty.  Re- 
ligion and  science,  two  branches  from  the  same  root,  were  thus 
made  free  by  the  mission  of  the  Eedeemer,  and  the  state  has  no 
more  power  over  the  one  than  over  the  other.  There  are  moral 
elements  in  the  nature  of  man  which  were  particularly  devel- 
oped by  the  Gospel,  and  without  which  no  society  can  flourish. 
But  they  have  an  absolute  worth,  independently  of  any  sanction 
of  government ;  they  belong  to  a  sphere  infinitely  superior  to 
that  of  the  state,  and  form  an  essential  part  of  modern  civil- 
ization. The  human  mind,  if  left  alone,  will  bring  supernatural 
influences  to  bear  on  society;  but  the  state,  as  such,  has  no 
control  over  these  influences,  and  the  attempt  to  enforce  it  led  to 
the  persecution  of  the  early  Christians,  brought  heretics  to  the 
dungeons  and  the  stake  of  the  inquisition,  subjected  Catholics 
and  dissenters  to  civil  disabilities  in  Protestant  countries,  ren- 
dered Protestants  odious  to  Catholic  governments,  and  all  be- 
lievers in  Christ  outcasts  among  Mohammedans.  "  It  is  impos- 
sible," says  Cavour,  "to  conceive  a  greater  calamity  fora  civil- 
ized people,  than  to  see  civil  and  religious  authority  united  in 
one  hand,  and  that  the  hand  of  the  government.  The  history  of 
all  ages  and  all  countries  establishes  this  fact ;  where  these  two 
aiithorities  have  been  united,  civilization  has  almost  instantane- 
ously ceased  advancing,  and  has  never  failed  to  retrograde  ulti- 
mately ;  the  most  odious  of  despotisms  has  been  established  ; 


80  A   FKEE   STATE. 

and  tins  result  lias  happened  equally  whenever  a  sacerdotal 
caste  has  assumed  temporal  authority  or  whenever  a  caliph  or 
sultan  has  assumed  spiritual  power.  Everywhere  this  fatal  con- 
fusion of  authority  has  led  to  the  same  result."  "  The  union 
of  state  and  church  renders  society  a  hideous  monster,"  says 
Macaulay,  "  cursed  with  one  principle  of  sensation  and  two 
principles  of  volition,  self-loathing  and  self-torturing — made  up 
of  parts  which  are  driven  by  frantic  impulse  to  inflict  mutual 
pain,  yet  are  doomed  to  feel  whatever  they  inflict ;  which  are 
divided  by  an  irreconcilable  hatred,  yet  are  blended  in  an  indis- 
soluble identity ;"  and  the  distinguished  writer  illustrates  this 
union  by  that  wild  Persian  fable,  in  which  'k  King  Zohak  gave 
the  devil  leave  to  kiss  his  shoulders.  Instantly  two  serpents 
sprang  out,  which  in  the  fury  of  hunger  attacked  his  head,  and 
attempted  to  get  at  his  brain.  Zohak  pulled  them  away,  and 
tore  them  with  his  nails  ;  but  he  found  that  they  were  insepa- 
rable parts  of  himself,  and  that  what  he  was  lacerating  was  his 
own  flesh.* 

The  separation  of  state  and  church,  which  was  one  of  the 
chief  objects  of  Cavour's  policy,  is  a  principle  logically  derived 
from  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation ;  but  it  is  only  in  the 
United  States  that  it  bears  its  perfect  fruit.  Here  religious 
liberty,  incorporated  with  the  character  of  the  people,  has  be- 
come a  basis  of  nationality  far  more  firm  than  that  which  other 
nations  seek  in  external  conformity  of  worship ;  placing  all 
denominations,  Protestant  and  Catholic,  on  an  equal  footing, 
binding  all  to  the  laws  of  the  state,  it  gives  full  scope  to  that 
competition  which  is  the  source  of  all  progress,  leaves  them  to 
provide  for  their  own  support  and  for  the  religious  education  of 
their  communicants,  and  renders  the  clergy  and  the  laity  of  all 
sects,  though  clad  in  different  uniforms,  soldiers  of  the  same 
army,  who,  beneath  the  same  flag  of  liberty,  do  battle  against 
the  common  enemy,  ignorance  and  wrong.  Thus  tolerance  is 
promoted,  Christian  feeling  nurtured,  and  civilization  devel- 
oped. It  is  only  by  adopting  this  genuine  catholic  system  of 
*  "  Church  and  State,"  by  T.  B.  Macaulay. 


THE    GOVERNMENT   AND   GARIBALDI.  81 

religious  freedom,  that  the  reform  proposed  by  Cavour  may  be 
accomplished,  and  a  free  church  introduced  into  a  free  state. 
Then  Italy  will  open  a  new  era  in  the  annals  of  liberty  in 
Europe,  and  inaugurate  a  new  Eeformation,  the  consummation 
of  that  which  more  than  three  centuries  ago  wrested  half  Europe 
from  the  papal  power ;  the  more  perfect,  as  the  civilization  of 
our  age  is  more  advanced  than  that  of  the  16th  century.* 

The  discussion  of  the  Koman  question  was  succeeded  in  the 
parliament  by  the  debate  on  the  military  force  of  the  country, 
and  particularly  on  the  disbanding  of  the  volunteers  who  had 
contributed  so  effectually  to  the  deliverance  of  southern  Italy. 
On  this  occasion  Cavour  was  assailed  with  great  bitterness  by 
Garibaldi — an  attack  which  was  probably  one  of  the  most  pain- 
ful incidents  of  his  life.  We  have  already  referred  to  the 
characteristic  and  political  differences  which  separated  these 
two  leaders.  The  policy  which  put  an  end  to  the  dictatorship 
of  the  great  chieftain  in  Naples,  had  contributed  still  more  to 
envenom  his  feeling  toward  Cavour.  It  must  be  admitted  that 
all  the  details  of  that  policy  were  by  no  means  justifiable,  and 
that  the  splendid  achievements  of  Garibaldi,  his  lofty  patriot- 
ism, his  extreme  sensibility,  his  virtues  as  well  as  his  weaknesses, 
required  on  the  part  of  the  administration  a  delicate  considera- 
tion, which  has  not  always  inspired  the  cabinet  in  its  relations 
with  the  conqueror  of  Palermo  and  Naples.  If,  for  the  purpose 
of  checking  the  disorders  of  the  Neapolitan  provinces,  a  new 
regime  was  required,  it  was  not  necessary  to  supplant  him  by 
men  known  to  be  obnoxious  to  him,  much  less  to  refuse  to 
comply  with  his  requests,  his  caprices  even,  as  long  as  they  did 
not  impede  the  success  of  the  great  cause.  The  government  of 
Turin,  it  is  true,  offered  to  him  whatever  he  might  desire  for 
himself  and  his  family.  But  with  Garibaldi  such  an  offer  was 
more  likely  to  give  offence  than  satisfaction,  particularly  as 
his  demands  in  behalf  of  his  most  devoted  friends  were  dis- 
regarded, and  even  popular  demonstrations  in  his  favor  pre- 
vented. 

*  See  note  E. 


82  DIFFICULTIES   AT   NAPLES. 

Granting,  then,  that  the  chieftain  had  some  ground  for  com- 
plaint, had  he  allowed  himself  to  be  led  by  his  generous 
nature  he  would  have  overlooked  the  errors  of  the  administra- 
tion, inasmuch  as  Cavour  had  ever  shown  that  his  opposition  to 
him  was  inspired  solely  by  the  public  necessities,  not  by  any 
feeling  of  resentment  or  jealousy.  Garibaldi  was  too  true  a 
patriot  not  to  distinguish  the  cause  of  the  nation  from  the  men 
in  power ;  and,  ready  to  sacrifice  himself  to  the  former,  he 
would  have  cheerfully  submitted  to  all  he  might  have  consid- 
ered as  a  slighter  injustice.  But,  unhappily,  on  leaving  Naples 
he  had  fallen  again  under  the  control  of  ill  advisers,  whose 
influence  was  exerted  to  increase  rather  than  to  allay  his 
animosity.  This  was  the  more  easy,  as  the  administration  of 
Naples  which  had  succeeded  his  dictatorship  was  far  from  reme- 
dying the  evils  which  had  led  to  the  change.  A  people  whose 
character  partakes  of  the  volcanic  nature  of  their  soil ;  whose 
mental  structure,  although  substantially  Italian,  is  tinged  with 
Greek  peculiarities,  blended  with  a  strong  tendency  to  supersti- 
tion, the  legacy  of  the  Spanish  domination ;  and  whose  spirit 
has  been  crushed  for  centuries  under  the  degrading  influences 
of  bigotry  and  despotism,  the  Neapolitans  could  not  at  once 
identify  themselves  with  the  more  positive  characteristics  of 
the  northern  Italians.  Had  it  been  possible  to  surround  Gari- 
baldi with  more  enlightened  and  patriotic  counsellors,  it  would 
doubtless  have  been  more  wise,  in  that  period  of  transition,  to 
have  retained  him  as  governor  over  a  people  who  still  regard 
with  awe  the  miracle  of  the  transformation  of  the  blood  of  St. 
Januarius.  A  hero  of  almost  supernatural  prestige  was  best 
fitted  to  counteract  the  influence  of  the  priesthood  over  the 
lower  classes.  But  Cavour  could  not  intrust  the  administration 
to  that  party  whose  direction  had  proved  so  dangerous  to  the  na- 
tional cause  ;  and  in  seeking  to  avert  this  evil  he  incurred  others 
not  less  mischievous.  The  revolutionary  elements  acquired  new 
strength  from  the  discontent  which  arose  from  the  superseding 
of  their  representative,  and  Cavour  now  found  himself  opposed 
in  Naples  not  only  by  the  republicans,  but  by  the  clergy  and 


CAUSES   OF   DISSEXT.  83 

the  other  allies  of  the  dethroned  Bourbon,  who  had  found 
refuge  within  the  walls  of  the  Quirinal,  where  he  occupied 
himself  in  enlisting  into  his  service  brigands  from  all  quarters 
of  Europe,  whom  he  let  loose  upon  the  Neapolitan  territory, 
eager  for  pillage  and  blood,  fit  champions  of  his  rights.  Amidst 
these  difficulties  it  is  not  surprising  that  order  was  not  at  once 
established,  especially  when  it  is  considered  that  Cavour  res- 
olutely declined  to  proclaim  martial  law,  however  justified  by 
the  necessities  of  the  time,  since  he  believed  that  in  the  end 
national  progress  would  be  more  benefited  by  the  excesses 
of  liberty  than  by  the  coercion  of  despotism,  and  the  event 
seemed  to  prove  the  wisdom  of  his  policy. 

In  all  revolutionary  periods,  Utopian  theorists,  empirical  poli- 
ticians, disappointed  office-seekers,  men  of  definite  and  men  of 
vague  ideas,  guided  by  antipathy  or  by  sympathy,  by  ambition 
or  patriotism,  although  divided  among  themselves,  will  on  oc- 
casions rally  around  a  common  centre  to  present  a  strong  front 
of  opposition  to  the  government.  So  in  the  first  Italian  parlia- 
ment these  various  elements  united,  and  looked  upon  Garibaldi 
as  their  leader.  Before  the  elections  they  proposed  to  nominate 
him  a  candidate  in  many  districts,  in  order  to  display  a  power- 
ful manifestation  against  the  policy  of  Cavour,  particularly 
against  the  French  alliance,  to  which  they  attributed  the  delay 
in  the  settlement  of  the  Roman  question.  Garibaldi,  aware 
that  his  place  was  not  in  the  parliament,  at  first  declined  all 
nominations,  and  it  was  only  through  the  entreaties  of  his  friends 
that  he  finally  consented  to  represent  one  of  the  districts  of 
Naples.  The  decrees  of  the  government  in  relation  to  the  dis- 
banding of  the  volunteers  had  produced  great  disaffection,  and 
he  now  urged  their  repeal,  the  maintenance  of  the  volun- 
teers on  a  war  footing,  and  the  general  arming  of  the  country — 
measures  which  the  government  could  not  adopt,  in  view  of  the 
complications  they  would  involve  with  foreign  powers. 

Public  sentiment  was  divided  on  this  subject,  and  the  agi- 
tations which  followed,  threatening  to  disturb  the  concord  to 
which  the  past  successes  were  chiefly  due.  Baron  Ricasoli  pro- 


84:  THE    GARIBALDI    DEBATE. 

posed  to  introduce  the  question  before  the  parliament,  in  the 
hope  of  bringing  about  a  reconciliation  between  the  two  leaders. 
On  the  18th  of  April,  1861,  the  day  appointed  for  that  discus- 
sion, Garibaldi  for  the  first  time  made  his  appearance  in  the 
chamber  of  deputies.  He  entered  the  hall  clad  in  his  worn  red 
shirt,  surrounded  by  his  friends,  amidst  the  cheers  of  the  house 
and  the  galleries.  Baron  Ricasoli  soon  opened  the  debate,  by 
depicting  in  glowing  colors  the  triumphs  which  thus  far  had 
crowned  the  efforts  of  the  Italian  people,  and,  deploring  the  fatal 
misunderstanding  which  had  arisen  between  the  two  men  who 
had  rendered  the  greatest  service  to  the  country,  with  patriotic 
earnestness  he  called  upon  the  house  to  inquire  into  its  cause, 
and  demanded  from  the  ministry  that  information  should  be 
laid  before  the  chamber  on  the  condition  of  the  regular  army 
and  the  volunteers.  The  secretary  of  war  accordingly  brought 
forward  a  report  on  the  national  forces,  and  strove  to  demon- 
strate that  the  late  decrees  were  favorable  to  the  volunteers,  and 
best  calculated  to  secure  their  future  services. 

Garibaldi  then  rose,  and  thanking  Ricasoli  for  having  intro- 
duced a  subject  of  such  vital  importance  to  him,  as  it  regarded 
the  interests  of  his  companions  in  arms,  he  admitted  the  disagree- 
ment existing  between  him  and  Cavour,  but  he  declared  that  he 
was  always  ready  to  yield  whenever  the  welfare  of  the  country 
demanded  it.  Had  he  closed  his  speech  at  this  point  he  would 
have  won  the  day ;  but,  new  to  parliamentary  usages,  and  insti- 
gated by  some  of  his  most  reckless  adherents,  he  allowed  him- 
self to  be  carried  away  by  his  ill  feeling.  He  repeated  his  for- 
mer taunt  that  Cavour  had  made  him  a  foreigner  in  his  native 
land ;  he  reproached  him  for  having  blighted  his  success  in 
Naples  by  his  cold  and  baneful  influence ;  and  rising  to  the  cli- 
max of  bitterness,  he  accused  him  of  having  instigated  civil  war, 
and  of  being  the  enemy  of  his  country.  Wounded  to  the  quick, 
Cavour  rose  to  protest.  But  the  house  protested  for  him  ;  the 
members  sprang  to  their  feet  as  one  man,  and  amidst  the  gen- 
eral confusion  and  shouts  of  an  indignant  assembly,  the  chair- 
man declared  the  house  adjourned.  This  protest  found  an  echo 


THE   GARIBALDI   DEBATE.  85 

through  the  whole  civilized  world  ;  and  the  press  of  Europe  as 
well  as  of  America — indeed  all  who  felt  an  interest  in  the  cause 
of  Italian  liberty — while  they  bestowed  on  the  great  chieftain 
the  tribute  of  their  unbounded  admiration,  were  unanimous  in 
the  expression  of  their  sorrow  that  he  who  represented  the  arm 
of  Italy  should  have  indulged  in  such  an  attack  upon  him  who 
represented  the  national  mind. 

The  house  being  called  to  order,  General  Bixio,  an  ardent 
patriot,  a  warm  friend  of  Garibaldi,  and  one  of  his  bravest 
lieutenants,  made  an  earnest  appeal  to  him  not  to  sacrifice  to 
his  feeling  the  holy  cause  in  which  they  were  all  with  equal  pa- 
triotism engaged ;  he  implored  Cavour  to  forgive  his  chief,  and 
both  to  unite  their  efforts  in  accomplishing  the  great  work  which 
Providence  had  intrusted  to  their  hands.  Cavour  was  first  to 
accept  the  proposed  reconciliation ;  and  with  his  usual  coolness 
and  urbanity,  he  offered  not  only  forgiveness  but  oblivion  for 
what  had  just  occurred ;  he  had  even  the  magnanimity  to 
justify  the  attack  of  his  adversary,  remarking  that  "  from  the 
grief  he  himself  had  felt,  when  he  thought  it  his  duty  to  advise 
the  king  to  cede  Nice  and  Savoy,  he  could  well  understand  the 
feelings  of  the  general,  and  the  resentment  he  had  shown." 
Would  to  God,  that  the  reconciliation  which  at  first  was  accept- 
ed by  Garibaldi  had  been  permanent !  But  while  the  house,  by 
passing  the  resolution  of  Eicasoli  by  an  overwhelming  majority, 
expressed  its  adhesion  to  the  policy  of  Cavour,  the  great  chief- 
tain still  continued  to  distrust  the  statesman.  Nor  was  the 
attempt  made  by  Victor  Emmanuel  to  change  his  feeling  more 
successful.  They  met  indeed  at  Moncalieri,  where  they  had 
been  invited  by  the  king ;  but  while  Cavour,  too  high-souled 
for  rancor,  cheerfully  offered  his  hand  in  friendship,  and  never 
ceased  to  express  his  appreciation  of  the  high  qualities  of  Gari- 
baldi, the  latter,  always  reflecting  the  opinion  of  those  who  sur- 
rounded him,  failed  to  reciprocate  the  feeling  except  for  the 
moment. 

Although  Cavour  came  out  of  this  conflict  victorious,  he  felt  to 
the  heart  the  wound  which  had  been  inflicted  upon  him,  render- 


86  OVERWORK. 

ed  still  more  severe  by  the  effort  to  conceal  it.     From  that  time  a 
change  took  place  in  his  countenance.     He  had  already  mani- 
fested symptoms  of  declining  health,  and  suffered  from  repeated 
attacks  of  congestion  of  the  brain.     The  great  amount  of  labor 
which  he  performed,  the  immense  responsibilities  of  his  posi- 
tion, his  bitter  disappointment  at  the  abrupt  termination  of  the 
war,  his  intense  anxiety  arising  from  the  unsettled  affairs  of 
Naples,  Venice,  and  Eome,  the  attacks  of  those  from  whom  he 
expected  a  cordial  support,  all  combined  to  tax  to  the  utmost 
his  exquisite  sensibility ;  while  his  unhealthy  manner  of  life, 
his  long  fasts  alternating  with  hasty  meals,  his  close  confine- 
ment, and  the  neglect  of  physical  exercise,  all  contributed  to 
undermine  his  iron  constitution.     His  eyes  now  lost  their  bril- 
liancy, his  once  florid  complexion  assumed  an  unnatural  hue, 
and  his  habitual  cheerfulness  was  succeeded  by  fits  of  melan- 
choly and  nervous  excitability.     For  the  first  time  he  complain- 
ed of  fatigue,  of  his  inability  to  rest ;  and  he  confessed  to  a 
friend  that  "  he  felt  his  frame  giving  way  beneath  his  mind  and 
will,  which  still  urged  it  on,"  and  expressed  a  wish  that  time 
might  be  allowed  him  to  finish  his  work.     "Then,"  said  he, 
"I  should  care  little  for  what  happened;  indeed,  I  should  be 
glad  to  die."     Still  he  worked  on  with  redoubled  zeal  to  the 
last.    He  was  every  day  at  his  post  in  the  parliament,  answering 
questions,  initiating  the  new  house  into  the  proceedings  of  con- 
stitutional government,  urging  forward  measures  best  adapted 
to  accomplish  the  unity  of  the  nation,  and  explaining  his  policy 
with  increased  power  and  earnestness,  as  if  a  secret  voice  told 
him  it  was  the  legacy  he  was  to  bequeath  to  his  country.     As 
the  head  of  the  executive  department,   his   labors  were   still 
greater ;  the  sudden  annexation  of  so  many  new  provinces  in- 
creased his  duties  to  a  prodigious  extent.     Old  abuses  were  to 
be  done  away  with,  new  institutions  introduced,  clashing  inter- 
ests reconciled,  finances  systematized,  taxes  revised,  ways  and 
means  provided,  the  codes  reformed,  railroads  marked  out  and 
built,  telegraphs  extended,  the  army  and  navy  increased,  every 
department  reorganized,  and,  in  short,  order  created  out  of  chaos. 


LAST   ILLNESS.  87 

As  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  the  whole  burden  of  the  compli- 
cated relations  with  other  countries  rested  upon  him ;  and  he 
was  forced  to  keep  a  constant  watch  over  the  chess-board  of 
European  diplomacy,  in  order  that  he  might  influence  the  move- 
ments of  friendly  powers,  ward  off  the  attacks  of  enemies,  and 
seize  the  moment  in  which  he  might  checkmate  the  emperor  of 
Austria  and  the  government  of  Eome.  In  fact,  he  had  the 
control  of  a  titanic  revolution,  which  his  position  obliged  him 
to  direct  solely  through  diplomatic  skill  and  energy. 

This  burden  of  the  whole  nation  in  its  transition  state  would 
have  broken  down  a  frame  of  even  greater  endurance.  Previous 
to  the  adjournment  of  the  great  national  festival,  to  be  celebrat- 
ed for  the  first  time  in  the  beginning  of  June,  1861,  the  vast 
amount  of  business  to  be  transacted  rendered  the  sittings  of 
the  parliament  unusually  laborious,  and  strained  to  their  utmost 
tension  the  already  overwrought  faculties  of  Cavour.  On  the 
29th  of  May,  the  last  day  of  his  public  life,  he  passed  the 
morning  at  the  department  of  state;  in  the  afternoon  he  ad- 
dressed the  chamber  on  various  topics,  and  the  discussion  turn- 
ing on  the  claims  of  the  volunteers,  he  heartily  supported  the 
motion  for  conciliation,  declaring  that  all  who  had  fought  for 
Italy,  whatever  might  have  been  their  political  antecedents  and 
opinions,  deserved  well  of  the  country.  On  the  same  evening  he 
was  seized  with  a  chill,  which  continued  through  the  night,  and 
in  the  morning,  according  to  his  custom  in  similar  cases,  he 
himself  prescribed  bleeding.  On  the  morning  of  the  31st  of 
May  his  condition  was  so  far  improved  that  he  insisted  on  giv- 
ing audiences,  and  summoned  to  his  bedside  the  minister  of  the 
viceroy  of  Naples,  who  had  just  arrived  from  that  city.  An 
exciting  conversation  of  two  hours  brought  on  a  relapse,  with 
new  and  more  dangerous  symptoms ;  and  on  Sunday,  the  2d 
of  June,  after  a  medical  consultation,  he  was  once  more  bled,  and 
the  operation  was  repeated  again  and  again.  For  this  method 
of  treatment  much  blame  has  been  attached  to  his  physicians, 
particularly  in  the  United  States  and  in  England.  But  it  was 
pursued  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  Cavour  himself,  who. 


88  DEATH. 

having  experienced  relief  from  it  in  other  similar  attacks,  and 
having  very  little  faith  in  medical  skill,  insisted  that  this  rem- 
edy alone  should  be  applied.  The  true  cause  of  the  disease 
which  closed  his  career,  whatever  form  it  may  have  assumed, 
was  overwork ;  and  it  is  doubtful  if  his  exhausted  nature  pos- 
sessed sufficient  power  of  reaction  under  any  mode  of  treat- 
ment. 

On  Thursday,  the  4th  of  June,  alarming  symptoms  began  to 
appear  in  the  sufferer,  and  the  news  of  his  dangerous  condition 
spreading  through  Turin,  cast  a  deep  gloom  over  the  city. 
The  streets  leading  to  his  palace  were  soon  filled  with  a 
silent  and  sorrowful  multitude,  eagerly  awaiting  reports  from 
the  sick  chamber.  Those  who  but  the  day  before  had  been 
his  bitter  opponents,  now  laying  aside  all  party  considerations, 
mingled  with  that  anxious  crowd ;  eyes  which  had  regarded 
him  with  coldness  or  envy,  were  now  wet  with  tears,  and  many 
a  one  among  that  throng  would  willingly  have  given  himself 
a  sacrifice  to  save  the  life  on  which  the  fate  of  the  nation 
seemed  to  hang.  And  when,  toward  the  last,  that  deep  silence 
was  broken  by  the  sound  of  the  bell  of  the  viaticum,  alternat- 
ing with  the  prayers  for  the  dying,  and  the  solemn  procession 
of  torch-bearers,  led  by  the  good  Fra  Giacomo  bearing  the  host, 
was  seen  entering  the  palace,  a  sob  of  anguish  arose  from  that 
multitude,  as  if  the  last  hope  of  the  country  was  about  to  be 
extinguished  forever.  Within,  beneath  the  roof  under  which 
he  was  born,  conscious  that  his  last  hour  has  come,  yet  calm, 
confident,  and  serene,  lies  the  dying  statesman  ;  dying  at  the 
close  of  the  first  festival  of  the  national  birthday,  thus  ren- 
dered doubly  sacred  to  posterity ;  surrounded  by  his  house- 
hold and  friends,  in  the  embrace  of  the  king  to  whom  he  had 
given  the  crown  of  Italy ;  amidst  the  anxiety  of  all  Europe, 
expressed  by  the  hourly  telegrams  received  from  the  various 
capitals ;  dying  as  he  lived — an  honest  man,  a  true  patriot, 
opposing  to  the  last  the  papal  church,  whose  sacraments,  the 
symbols  of  Christianity,  he  receives  in  spite  of  her  excommuni- 
cation, thus  showing  that  he  can  be  a  Christian  without  being 


THE   MOURNING  OF  THE   NATION. 

a  papist.  Whether  in  the  full  possession  of  his  faculties  or 
in  the  wanderings  of  delirium,  no  bitterness  or  rancor  escapes 
his  lips,  but  he  speaks  words  of  cheer  and  consolation  to  his 
friends,  assuring  them  that  all  is  saved,  that  Italy  is  secure ; 
and  as  the  morning  of  the  6th  of  June  dawns,  he  gradually 
sinks,  still  absorbed  in  the  one  thought  of  his  country  for 
whose  greatness  lie  had  lived  ;  and,  uttering  faintly  and  at 
intervals  the  darling  names  of  Italy,  Eome,  and  Venice,  his 
glorious  spirit  passes  away. 

The  tidings  of  Cavour's  death  rang  throughout  the  peninsula 
like  the  knell  of  the  nation,  and  for  a  moment  the  whole  Italian 
people  seemed  to  have  been  struck  by  the  same  blow  which  had 
prostrated  their  great  leader  in  his  prime  and  vigor.  At  Turin 
the  consternation  was  overwhelming  ;  the  whole  city  was  shroud- 
ed in  mourning.  The  hum  of  commerce  and  business  was  no 
longer  heard ;  the  occupations  of  ordinary  life  were  for  the  time 
suspended  ;  and  the  pervading  silence  was  broken  only  by  the 
thousand  bells  which  rang  forth  their  mournful  funeral  peals.  In 
the  great  hall  of  Cavour  palace  the  remains  lay  in  state,  and  the 
constituted  bodies  and  the  whole  people  thronged  thither  to  pay 
their, last  tribute  to  the  illustrious  dead,  and  to  gaze  once  more 
on  his  beloved  features.  On  the  8th  of  June,  the  funeral  took 
place  with  all  the  pomp  of  military  display,  and  with  more  than 
royal  honors.  Placed  on  a  magnificent  car,  and  attended  by  the 
troops  under  arms,  with  all  the  splendid  pageantry  of  the  church 
and  state,  followed  by  senators,  deputies,  ministers,  dignitaries  of 
the  state,  the  courts,  the  municipal,  scientific,  commercial,  and 
religious  corporations,  amidst  the  solemn  chants  of  the  clergy, 
the  roll  of  the  muffled  drums,  the  thunder  of  artillery,  and  the 
mourning  of  a  whole  people,  the  form  of  Cavour  was  borne, 
through  the  avenues  of  the  city,  draped  with  black  and  strown 
with  funeral  flowers,  to  the  church  of  the  Madonna  degli  An- 
geli.  The  king  requested  the  privilege  of  enshrining  the  sa- 
cred remains  of  his  minister  in  the  royal  vaults  of  Superga  ; 
Turin  claimed  the  honor  of  guarding  the  relics  of  her  great- 
est son;  and  Florence  opened  her  pantheon  of  Santa  Croce, 


90  PERSONAL  APPEARANCE. 

and  asked  to  place  them  by  the  side  of  those  of  Machia- 
velli  and  Gralileo.  But  Cavour  had  long  before  expressed  a 
wish  to  be  laid  in  the  tomb  of  his  ancestors  ;  and  in  the  little 
village  of  Santena,  within  the  family  chapel,  his  honored  dust 
reposes. 

The  deep  emotion  which  the  death  of  Cavour  everywhere 
occasioned  is  fresh  in  our  memory.  It  was  not  alone  the  result 
of  that  sympathy  with  which  all  civilized  nations  regarded  Italy, 
but  it  arose  from  an  appreciation  of  the  high  personal  qualities 
of  the  great  patriot.  Every  freeman,  whether  in  Europe  or 
in  America,  felt  that  in  him  he  had  lost  a  friend.  The  parlia- 
ment of  England  resounded  with  the  praises  of  the  illustrious 
dead ;  the  emperor  of  France,  true  to  his  friendship,  hastened 
to  recognize  over  his  grave  the  kingdom  of  Italy ;  and  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  forgetting  for  a  moment  the  calam- 
ities of  civil  war,  through  the  countless  voices  of  their  press 
gave  utterance  to  the  universal  sentiment  of  regret — a  senti- 
ment profoundly  echoed  in  the  hearts  of  those  Italians  who 
had  left  their  native  land  in  despair,  when  no  ray  of  hope 
pierced  the  gloom  of  the  future,  who  from  these  distant  shores 
watched  with  intense  emotion  the  resurrection  of  their  coun- 
try as  he  raised  her  into  life,  and  who  in  their  absence  found 
their  only  consolation  in  seeing  their  beloved  Italy  again 
take  her  place  among  the  nations.  Let  the  Italian  people  fol- 
low the  teaching  and  example  of  their  great  statesman,  and 
when  generations  shall  have  passed  away,  and  the  fruits  of  the 
unity  and  independence  which  he  secured  shall  have  reached 
their  maturity,  the  lonely  tomb  of  Santena  will  become  the 
Mount  Yernon  of  Italy,  the  sacred  shrine  to  which  pilgrims 
will  come  to  do  homage  to  the  memory  of  him  who  gave  life 
and  freedom  to  a  nation. 

In  person  Cavour  was  below  the  medium  height ;  his  figure 
was  strongly  built ;  his  brow  massive  and  intellectual ;  his  eyes 
were  clear  and  penetrating ;  and  over  his  firmly  set  mouth  a 
smile  half  ironical  and  half  humorous  habitually  played.  His 
whole  face  indicated  the  strength,  the  sensibility,  and  vivacity 


PKIVATE   LIFE   AND   CHARACTER  91 

of  his  character,  and  faithfully  reflected  all  his  emotions ;  in 
which  respect  alone  he  was  no  diplomatist.  Indeed,  his  un- 
conscious outward  manifestations  of  pleasure  or  dissatisfaction 
were  so  marked,  that  the  state  of  his  mind  could  be  easily  in- 
terpreted by  those  who  watched  him  even  as  he  passed  along 
the  streets. 

His  private  life  was  quiet  and  laborious.  To  the  last,  he 
continued  to  rise  between  four  and  five  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
He  devoted  the  first  hour  to  his  personal  affairs,  and  the  remain- 
der of  the  day  to  his  duties  at  the  department,  or  in  the  parlia- 
ment. After  a  late  dinner  he  returned  to  his  occupations,  and 
remained  engaged  until  past  midnight.  He  found  his  chief  re- 
creation in  his  occasional  visits  to  his  estates  at  Leri,  where,  lay- 
ing aside  the  cares  of  state,  he  delighted  to  mingle  with  his 
tenants,  to  discuss  with  them  the  best  methods  of  agriculture, 
to  direct  their  labors,  and  to  provide  for  their  comfort  and  im- 
provement. He  was  never  married.  When  in  the  city,  he  lived 
with  his  elder  and  only  brother,  the  Marquis  Gustavo  di  Ca- 
vour,  a  member  of  the  parliament,  a  man  of  great  nobleness  of 
character,  and  of  high  intellectual  attainments,  but  from  whose 
religious  views  he  differed  widely.  Cavour  considered  Christi- 
anity, in  its  relation  to  social  existence,  as  a  religion  of  love 
and  progress ;  and  while  he  strove  to  infuse  into  the  nation 
those  catholic  principles  of  life,  he  left  to  his  brother  the  study 
of  its  metaphysical  and  theological  aspects.  He  was  deeply 
attached  to  his  family  ;  to  his  surviving  nephew  he  bequeathed 
the  bulk  of  his  fortune,  and  he  desired  to  be  laid  by  the  side 
of  the  other,  who  had  fallen  in  the  war  of  independence.  In 
manners,  he  was  simple  and  charming ;  his  conversation  was 
brilliant  and  witty.  He  was  genial  and  fond  of  frolic  and  fun, 
although  his  temper  was  passionate,  and  he  was  at  times  impe- 
rious and  intolerant  of  opposition  even  from  his  best  friends. 
But  this  was  evanescent ;  and,  either  wrong  or  right,  with  his 
equals  or  subordinates,  with  friends  or  foes,  he  was  always  the 
first  to  seek  a  reconciliation  whenever  he  had  given  offence. 
His  personal  prejudices  and  antipathies  were  not  deeply  rooted, 


92  AS   A   DEBATER  AND   STATESMAN. 

and  easily  gave  way,  while  the  great  power  of  satire  which  he 
possessed  he  freely  used  as  a  weapon,  not  as  a  vehicle  of  ill- 
nature.  He  was  accessible  to  the  humblest  citizen.  He  was 
kind,  generous,  and  tender-hearted,  and  delighted  in  acts  of  be- 
nevolence, many  of  which  he  performed  in  secret.  Firm  in  the 
consciousness  of  right,  he  was  superior  to  flattery  or  censure ; 
and  although,  as  the  moral  dictator  of  the  nation,  he  generally 
chose  for  his  subordinates  men  of  mediocrity,  laborious  and 
submissive,  rather  than  those  who  were  remarkable  for  genius 
or  personal  independence,  he  appreciated  talent  and  patriotism 
even  in  his  adversaries,  whom  he  often  intrusted  with  important 
offices. 

As  a  debater,  Cavour  was  not  distinguished  by  brilliancy  of 
language,  imagery  of  style,  modulation  of  voice  or  elegance  of 
gesture,  but  by  affluence  of  thought  and  general  knowledge, 
by  wit,  and  force  of  reasoning  and  expression.  His  speeches 
were  more  synthetic  than  analytic,  dealing  with  a  subject  in 
all  its  principles  and  relations  rather  than  in  its  details,  and 
more  resembling  philosophical  essays  on  practical  affairs  than 
the  special  pleadings  of  the  lawyer  or  the  effusions  of  a  rhet- 
orician. Clear,  precise,  and  logical,  he  lacked  the  grandeur  of 
Webster,  the  inspiration  of  Clay,  and  the  finish  of  Everett ;  but 
he  fixed  the  attention  by  his  well  defined  premises,  breadth  of 
treatment,  power  of  argument,  aptness  of  illustration,  natural- 
ness of  style,  and  almost  mathematical  sequence  of  ideas.  He 
possessed  in  a  remarkable  degree  the  faculty  of  anticipating 
the  thoughts  of  others  long  before  they  were  expressed ;  and 
when  a  dull  speaker  or  an  imprudent  friend  had  the  floor,  his 
general  uneasiness  and  restless  motion  manifested  his  impa- 
tience. Over  the  house  he  exerted  an  almost  absolute  sway, 
and  his  speeches,  especially  those  on  free  trade,  the  alliance  with 
England  and  France,  the  Roman  question,  and  on  other  subjects 
of  equal  importance,  will  remain  enduring  monuments  of  his 
parliamentary  ability. 

The  grandeur  of  Cavour's  character  as  a  statesman  must  be 
estimated  by  the  magnitude  of  his  object,  the  boldness  and  the 


CONCLUSION".  93 

prudence  with  which  he  executed  his  designs,  and  the  extraor- 
dinary power  which  he  possessed  of  foreseeing  results  and  of 
converting  obstacles  into  means.  He  combined  the  originality 
and  depth  of  a  theorist  with  the  practical  genius  of  a  true  re- 
former; he  understood  the  character  of  the  age  in  which  he 
lived,  and  made  it  tributary  to  his  great  purposes.  He  made 
self-government  the  object  of  legislation,  political  economy  the 
source  of  liberty,  and  liberty  the  basis  of  nationality.  Aware 
that  neither  revolution  nor  conservatism  alone  could  produce 
the  regeneration  of  his  country,  he  opposed  them  in  their  sepa- 
rate action,  while  he  grasped  them  both  with  a  firm  hand,  yoked 
them  together,  and  led  them  on  to  conquest.  He  saw  that  Ital- 
ian independence  could  only  be  attained  through  the  aid  of 
foreign  alliance ;  he  recognized  in  Napoleon  III.  the  personifi- 
cation of  organized  revolution,  and  the  natural  ally  of  the  Ital- 
ian people ;  and  the  work,  which  he  foreshadowed  in  the  union 
of  the  Sardinian  troops  with  the  armies  of  England  and  France 
in  the  Crimea,  and  for  which  he  laid  the  foundation  in  the 
congress  of  Paris,  was  achieved  with  the  victories  of  Magenta 
and  Solferino,  and  the  recognition  of  the  new  kingdom  of  Italy. 
More  than  five  centuries  ago,  when  Dante  beheld  the  splen- 
dor of  Italian  civilization  obscured  by  civil  war  and  foreign 
oppression,  his  beautiful  country  divided  into  petty  sovereign- 
ties, distracted  by  mutual  jealousies,  the  fair  provinces  of  the 
south  convulsed  by  the  intrigues  of  the  heirs  of  Charles  of  An- 
jou,  "Rome  mixing  two  governments  that  ill  assort,"  Florence 
disturbed  by  demagogues,  Venice  misruled  by  aristocrats,  Milan 
harassed  by  Guelph  lords,  Yerona  by  Ghibelline  masters,  Pisa 
armed  against  Genoa,  Genoa  against  Venice,  the  papacy  strug- 
gling against  the  empire,  the  empire  against  the  papacy,  and 
the  fury  of  discord  everywhere  raging,  he  poured  forth,  in  sub- 
lime strains  which  have  echoed  through  the  ages,  his  warning 
to  nations  against  the  calamities  of  disunion.  In  vain  he  strove 
to  unite  those  discordant  elements  into  harmony  and  nation- 
ality; and  to  this  cause  devoted  his  genius,  his  love,  his  re- 
ligion, his  life,  and  consecrated  his  labors  as  poet  and  soldier, 


94  CONCLUSION. 

as  magistrate  and  statesman.  In  vain  he  called  upon  Albert 
and  Henry  VII. ,  and  appealed  to  Can  della  Scala  lord  of  Vero- 
na, and  to  other  Italian  princes  for  aid.  Broken  down  by  the 
disasters  of  his  country,  disappointed  in  his  love,  his  property 
confiscated,  exiled  from  his  native  city,  a  fugitive  under  sen- 
tence of  death,  wandering  through  the  peninsula,  and  proving 
everywhere — 

"  How  salt  the  savor  is  of  others'  bread, 
How  hard  the  passage,  to  descend  and  climb 
By  others'  stairs" — 

he  reached  Eavenna  to  breathe  his  last  in  the  bitterness  of  sor- 
row and  despair.  But  rejoice,  0  illustrious  shade !  The  sacred 
fire  of  patriotism  which  burns  in  thy  immortal  song,  has  at  last 
kindled  the  hearts  of  thy  countrymen.  Thy  lofty  aspirations, 
borne  on  the  wings  of  thy  divine  poetry,  like  invisible  hosts, 
have  led  thy  country  on  to  liberty  and  union ;  thy  noble 
dream  is  at  last  fulfilled.  Behold  the  papal  throne  crumb- 
ling to  its  foundations,  the  imperial  sceptre  broken  asunder, 
and  the  Italian  cities,  upon  whom  thou  didst  lay  thy  unmer- 
ciful scourge,  with  the  torches  of  discord  extinguished,  like  a 
band  of  sisters,  arrayed  under  the  standard  of  that  Emmanuel, 
whom  in  thy  vision  thou  didst  foresee.*  Bend  down,  O  immor- 
tal genius  of  Italy !  bend  down  from  thy  paradise,  where  "in  the 
light  supreme  thou  livest ;"  receive  into  thy  bosom  the  spirit  of 
the  great  Italian  whom  we  mourn ;  who  has  wrought  thy  divine 
poem  into  thy  nation's  history ;  who  has  accomplished  the  work 
to  which  thou  didst  give  thy  life.  Eeceive  him,  and,  as  once 
Beatrice  led  thee,  be  thou  his  guide  through  those  realms  where 
founders  of  nations,  champions  of  liberty,  martyrs  and  bene- 
factors of  humanity,  forever  dwell  in  glorious  immortality. 

See  Note  F. 


NOTES. 


NOTE  A. 

THE  following  extract  from  a  letter  addressed  by  Cavour  to  the  writer  of 
this  discourse,  dated  July  9th,  1859,  two  days  before  the  interview  of  Villa- 
franca,  proves  how  bright  were  his  anticipations  at  that  time,  and  how 
highly  he  appreciated  the  sympathy  expressed  by  the  American  people 
for  the  Italian  cause :  "  The  unanimous  expressions  of  sympathy  and 
affection  which  all  civilized  nations  bestowed  upon  the  defenders  of 
Italian  independence,  show  that  our  cause  is  closely  connected  with  the 
vast  interests  of  justice  and  civilization.  The  country  which  gave  birth 
to  Washington  has  always  been  the  first  to  give  us  substantial  proofs 
of  its  benevolence.  Following  its  example,  and  aided,  as  America  was,  by 
the  generous  armies  of  France,  we  shall  reach  our  goal,  and  Italy,  having 
secured  her  independence,  will  bring  again  to  the  assembly  of  nations  the 
tribute  of  her  activity  in  industry,  science,  and  arts." 


NOTE  B. 

Prominent  among  the  writers  of  this  class  is  Lamartine,  who,  in  his 
"  Cours  familierde  Litterature,  61  Entretien,  1861,"  seems  to  have  proposed 
to  himself  the  object  of  exciting  the  jealousy  of  the  French  people  against 
the  Italian  movement.  Commonplace  arguments,  borrowed  from  the  up- 
holders of  the  Austrian  and  papal  governments,  form  the  substance  of  his 
pages,  in  which  party  spirit  is  ill  concealed  under  the  charm  of  style.  He 
maintains  that  a  confederation  is  the  normal  state  of  the  peninsula,  and 
describes  Italian  unity  as  a  Sardinian  conquest,  the  result  of  the  ambition 
of  the  house  of  Savoy,  aided  by  the  intrigues  of  England,  who  thus  plots 
against  the  security  of  France.  Omitting  to  state  the  facts  on  which  his 


96  NOTES. 

assumptions  rest,  it  is  difficult  to  enter  into  any  criticism  of  his  "  Diplomatic 
Litterature,"  the  main  object  of  which  is  so  evidently  to  attack  the  policy 
of  the  French  emperor.  The  plan  of  Lamartine,  consisting  in  dividing  the 
country  into  various  small  sovereignties,  would  doubtless  make  it  subserv- 
ient to  the  interests  of  other  nations ;  but  united  Italy,  a  maritime  power 
with  a  population  of  twenty-six  millions,  would  be  much  more  likely  to  be 
regarded  by  England  as  a  rival  than  as  a  tool.  When  Lamartine,  the 
republican  of  1848,  talks  of  the  equilibrium  of  nations,  international  right, 
Italian  nationalities,  the  necessity  of  an  alliance  between  France  and 
Austria,  and  the  respect  due  to  diplomatic  treaties,  in  language  which 
would  become  a  Metternich,  we  recall  the  opinion  expressed  by  Cavour  on 
that  writer  as  early  as  1845,  when  the  events  of  the  following  years  had 
not  yet  reduced  to  its  just  proportions  his  statesmanship.  "This  great 
poet,"  wrote  Cavour,  "  and  illustrious  writer,  has  hitherto  shown  too  little 
power  of  appreciating  the  positive  and  practical  side  of  life  for  his  opinion 
to  carry  much  weight.  The  very  wealth  and  power  of  imagination  to 
which  his  great  literary  success  is  due,  seem  to  be  insurmountable  obstacles 
to  his  disciplining  his  mind,  and  submitting  it  to  the  severe  exigencies  of 
science  and  logic.  He  is  disqualified,  therefore,  for  forming  any  precise  or 
valid  opinion  with  regard  to  questions  which  relate  to  the  policy  of  the 
day." 


NOTE  C. 

In  discussing  the  Roman  question,  it  is  important  to  insist  on  this  distinc- 
tion between  those  genuine  principles  of  Christianity,  which  constitute  the 
basis  of  the  Roman  church  and  those  of  the  papacy,  an  accidental  and 
temporary  form,  through  which  the  Christian  religion  manifested  itself  in 
ages  bygone.  The  confounding  of  the  divine  and  human  elements  of  re- 
ligion, of  the  absolute  Christian  idea  with  its  historical  manifestations,  has 
ever  been  the  source  of  religious  despotism,  and  continues  to  be  the  great 
impediment  to  the  full  realization  of  Italian  unity  and  independence.  The 
spiritual  sovereignty  of  the  papacy  is  assumed  as  an  essential  element  of 
Christianity,  both  by  those  writers  who  maintain  that  the  temporal  power 
is  a  necessary  condition  for  the  free  exercise  of  the  spiritual  jurisdiction,  and 
by  those  who  consider  that  power  obnoxious  to  the  true  interests  of  the  pa- 
pal institution.  All  these  writers,  although  apparently  belonging  to  opposite 
schools,  admit  a  priori  the  spiritual  power  of  the  papacy,  as  a  principle  in- 
herent to  Christianity,  thus  ignoring  alike  the  apodictical  conclusions  of 
modern  philosophy,  which  have  long  since  swept  away  that  assumption 


NOTES.  97 

from  social  science,  and  the  fact  that  that  principle  is  rejected  by  the  more 
enlightened  half  of  Christendom,  which  to  this  open  disregard  owes  its 
moral  and  economical  supremacy. 

Among  the  writers  of  the  papal  school  we  may  mention  Guizot,  whose 
recent  book,  "  L'Eglise  et  la  Societe  Chretienne  en  1861,"  is  based  on  this 
confusion.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  professional  defenders  of  the  papal 
see  should  endeavor  to  perpetuate  this  fundamental  error ;  they  can  fol- 
low no  other  course,  since  the  papal  system  excludes  all  possibility  of 
questioning  the  principle  on  which  it  rests.  But  that  a  Protestant  and  a 
philosophical  writer  should  base  his  work  on  such  premises,  is  not  to  be 
accounted  for,  even  on  the  ground  of  opposition  to  the  policy  of  the  em- 
peror of  France,  which  has  obviously  led  Guizot  to  the  support  of  the  pa- 
pal throne.  Passing  over  the  manifest  hostility  toward  Italy,  which  causes 
him,  in  common  with  Lamartine  and  other  French  writers,  to  attribute  the 
recent  events  in  the  peninsula  to  the  ambition  of  the  house  of  Savoy,  and 
otherwise  to  misrepresent  the  Italian  movement,  we  cannot  refrain  from 
pointing  out  his  mode  of  reasoning  on  the  papal  question.  From  the  assump- 
tion that  traditional  Christianity  is  everywhere  attacked  by  rationalists  and 
critics,  Guizot  concludes  that  it  is  the  duty  of  all  Christian  churches  to 
defend  its  different  forms,  and  therefore  to  stand  by  their  sister  of  Rome, 
whose  external  organization,  including  the  temporal  power  of  the  pope,  is 
a  condition  of  its  existence.  Had  the  author  of  "  The  History  of  Civiliza- 
tion in  Europe"  analyzed  the  Christian  elements  which  the  Roman  church 
possesses  in  common  with  other  churches,  and  which  lie  at  the  foundation 
of  the  present  civilization  ;  had  he  pointed  out  the  zeal  through  which  that 
church  strives  to  propagate  its  faith,  the  pre-eminence  given  to  aesthetic 
and  symbolic  agencies  in  the  divine  worship,  the  charitable  institutions, 
which,  nurtured  by  the  church,  are  the  ornament  of  southern  Europe,  and 
the  elasticity  of  mind  through  which  many  of  its  members  escape,  although 
at  the  expense  of  their  logic,  the  evil  consequences  of  the  system  ;  had  he 
urged  the  preservation  of  the  genuine  elements  of  the  Roman  church,  he 
would  have  secured  the  sympathy  of  all  truly  liberal  minds,  who  regard 
the  Christian  religion  as  the  universal  bond  uniting  all  Christians,  and  which 
is  destined  to  embrace  all  mankind.  Such  an  analysis,  however,  would 
have  led  him  to  a  conclusion  quite  different  from  that  to  which  he  arrives. 
He  would  have  seen  that  the  papacy,  both  in  its  spiritual  and  temporal  at- 
tributes, has  long  since  ceased  to  be  a  part  of  that  Catholicism  which  is  the 
characteristic  of  all  truth,  and  that  it  is  only  l>y  an  iaveterate  abuse  of 
terms  that  it  can  be  confounded  with  the  catholic  religion.  An  institution 
which,  from  its  very  essence,  excludes  from  the  pale  of  Christianity  all  dis- 
senting communions,  claims  jurisdiction  over  all  Christians,  whether  they 


y«  NOTES. 

acknowledge  or  repudiate  its  authority,  and  which,  disregarding  all  dis- 
tinction between  fundamental  and  secondary  tenets,  holds  as  equally  heret- 
ical those  who  reject  the  universal  dogmas  of  the  creation,  incarnation,  and 
redemption,  and  those  who  deny  their  assent  to  its  own  doctrines  on  the 
infallibility  of  the  church,  transubstantiation,  confession,  purgatory,  and 
the  like — such  an  institution  cannot  be  properly  called  catholic  or  uni- 
versal. Much  less  can  it  be  expected  that  other  churches  should  come  to 
the  support  of  those  exclusive  principles,  which  they  consider  as  opposed 
to  the  gospel  as  well  as  to  their  own  existence.  Equally  sophistical  appears 
the  plea  of  Guizot  in  behalf  of  the  temporal  power  as  necessary  to  the  free- 
dom of  the  church.  If  other  churches  can  exist  and  flourish  although  de- 
prived of  all  temporalities,  it  cannot  be  seen  how  a  kingdom  is  necessary  to 
the  Eoman  church.  Religious  authority  derives  its  legitimacy  only  from 
the  free  will  of  those  who  grant  it,  and  excludes  therefore  all  external  power 
for  its  enforcement.  The  freedom  of  the  papacy,  involving  the  servitude 
of  Italy,  is  not  freedom  but  despotism ;  and  the  arguments  employed  by 
Guizot  in  the  defence  of  such  a  cause  fall  to  the  ground,  like  those  of 
the  slaveholders  of  the  South,  who  attempt  to  justify  their  rebellion  against 
the  freest  government  in  the  world,  under  the  plea  that  their  liberty  is 
infringed  upon,  understanding  for  this  liberty  the  power  of  extending 
human  slavery  over  the  American  continent.  In  advocating  the  cause  of 
papal  liberty,  Guizot  advocates  the  cause  of  slavery  in  Italy,  not  that  of 
Christianity. 

"While  the  defenders  of  the  papacy,  by  confounding  it  with  Christianity, 
are  brought  into  open  conflict  with  the  Italian  nationality,  those  writers 
who  on  the  same  ground  strive  to  reconcile  the  papacy  with  Italy,  com- 
promise the  claims  of  both.  Passaglia  in  his  "  Pro  Caussa  Italica  ad  Episco- 
pos  Catholicos,"  professing  his  entire  subjection  to  the  spiritual  sovereignty 
of  the  pope,  which  he  considers  essential  to  Christianity,  contends  that  the 
papal  temporalities  are  an  impediment  to  the  exercise  of  spiritual  jurisdic- 
tion, and  insists  that  the  former  should  be  renounced  for  the  preservation 
of  the  latter.  This  view  is  common  to  other  writers  of  the  Catholic  party  in 
Italy,  among  whom  are  many  priests,  who,  like  Passaglia,  having  sustained 
with  heroic  devotion  the  papal  system  until  the  national  cause  seemed  likely 
to  triumph,  now  give  to  it  this  qualified  support.  The  distinction  between  the 
spiritual  and  temporal  power  is  the  pivot  upon  which  the  arguments  of  those 
writers  turn.  Let  the  pope,  say  they,  confine  himself  to  his  religious  avoca- 
tions, and  from  the  Vatican  rule  his  spiritual  kingdom.  Let  the  Italian  gov- 
ernment take  possession  of  Eome,  and  from  the  Quirinal  preside  over  the  tem- 
poral interests  of  the  nation,  and  the  reconciliation  of  the  papacy  and  Italy  will 
be  an  accomplished  fact.  A  beautiful  arrangement,  if  it  did  not  rest  entirely 


NOTES.  99 

on  a  mental  abstraction,  upon  which  it  is  impossible  to  build  up  a  social 
reform.  The  distinction  between  the  spiritual  and  temporal  power,  as 
understood  by  Passaglia  and  his  companions,  is  but  a  relic  of  the  scholastic 
philosophy,  founded  on  the  idea  of  an  opposition  existing  between  the  soul 
and  body,  the  former  being  subject  to  the  authority  of  the  pope,  the  latter 
to  that  of  the  emperor ;  and  as  the  soul  was  regarded  as  the  mistress  of  the 
body,  so  the  papacy  logically  claimed  right  of  domination  over  rulers  and 
people.  This  claim  gave  rise  to  the  long  struggle  between  the  papacy  and 
the  empire.  Happily  since  that  time  philosophy  has  made  some  progress. 
Since  then  psychology  and  physiology  have  established  the  fact  of  the  unity 
and  the  indivisibility  of  human  nature ;  they  have  shown  that  the  body  is 
but  the  necessary  condition  of  the  soul's  manifestation,  and  that  not  only 
no  opposition,  but  perfect  harmony  exists  between  the  two.  Meanwhile 
ontology  and  ideology  revived  the  ancient  doctrine  of  Plato,  corroborated 
by  the  teaching  of  the  Gospel,  of  the  immanent  presence  of  the  Absolute 
to  the  human  mind ;  a  presence  through  which  some  of  the  prerogatives 
of  the  Deity  are  communicated  to  the  intellectual  creature,  which  thus  is 
made  self-sovereign,  and  independent  in  all  spiritual  matters. 

To  grant  spiritual  sovereignty  to  the  pope  or  to  any  human  organization,  is 
to  recognize  the  right  of  spiritual  despotism.  If  such  sovereignty  is  not  a 
fiction  but  a  reality,  it  necessarily  extends  over  the  spiritual  faculties  of  man ; 
it  involves  the  control  of  what  is  free  and  uncontrollable ;  it  implies  the  sub- 
jection of  the  whole  man ;  it  excludes  all  other  sovereignties ;  and  tending  to 
unite  the  race  under  its  sway,  it  must  trample  of  necessity  upon  the  right 
of  nationality.  Thus  the  papacy  is  antagonistic  to  intellectual  and  religious 
liberty,  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  and  the  right  of  nationality,  which  are 
the  characteristic  features  of  modern  civilization.  We  go  farther,  and  say  that 
Passaglia  and  the  other  theologians  of  the  new  school  cannot,  consistently 
with  their  system,  discuss  the  claims  of  the  papacy,  since  spiritual  power 
includes  in  itself  the  absolute  right  of  defining  its  own  nature,  its  limits  and 
conditions.  Add  to  this,  that  the  church,  according  to  papal  doctrine,  is  a 
divinely  appointed  institution,  endowed  with  a  constitution  of  its  own,  with 
a  determined  order,  which  renders  its  system  one  and  complete.  The  pres- 
ervation of  this  hierarchical  order  is  necessary  to  the  preservation  of  the 
church  itself;  and  those  who  presume  to  substitute  for  that  authority  their 
own  private  judgment,  destroy  the  economy  of  the  ecclesiastical  establish- 
ment of  Eome.  When  Passaglia  therefore  accumulates  authorities  from 
the  Bible  and  the  fathers,  to  contradict  the  claims  of  the  papacy,  however 
right  he  may  be,  he  cannot  call  himself  a  follower  of  the  system  of  which 
the  papal  church  is  the  representative.  As  long  as  he  professes  himself 
subject  to  the  papal  authority,  he  will  be  properly  reminded  that  it  does 


100  NOTES. 

not  belong  to  a  subordinate  to  dispute  the  rights  of  him  who  has  the  power 
of  loosing  and  binding,  who  is  the  teacher  and  the  shepherd,  while  he 
(Passaglia)  is  but  a  disciple  and  a  sheep,  bound  to  follow,  not  allowed  to  lead. 
The  fact  that  even  those  who  are  more  earnest  in  supporting  the  papal  sys- 
tem destroy  it  in  their  attempt  to  limit  it,  shows  that  spiritual  sovereignty 
has  lost  all  reality,  and  has  become  only  a  name.  Many  of  the  politicians 
in  Italy,  knowing  of  religious  matters  only  what  they  have  learned  from  their 
nurses,  or  from  the  hearsay  of  papal  theology,  in  the  struggle  in  which 
they  are  engaged,  profess  great  reverence  and  veneration  for  the  papal  see 
as  a  spiritual  power,  evidently  fearing  that  the  disregard  for  that  power 
should  be  considered  as  a  disregard  for  Christianity.  Happily  human  na- 
ture is  more  logical  and  sincere  than  politicians  and  theologians,  and  we 
trust  more  in  its  development  than  in  the  artifices  of  the  former,  or  in  the 
quibbles  of  the  latter,  not  only  for  a  speedy  solution  of  the  Roman  question, 
but  particularly  for  that  intellectual  emancipation  which  is  the  first  con- 
dition of  the  regeneration  of  Italy.  Let  the  enlightened  classes  abandon  the 
highly  immoral  practice  of  extolling  an  institution  whose  dogmas  they  do 
not  believe,  and  ma^y  of  whose  precepts  they  daily  violate ;  let  them  shake 
off  that  mental  lethargy,  which  a  long  reign  of  despotism  has  fastened  upon 
them ;  let  them  purify  their  religious  sentiment  through  the  light  of  gen- 
uine Christianity,  which  is  essentially  rational,  moral,  and  civilizing ;  let 
them  be  sincere,  consistent,  and  have  the  moral  courage  to  act  according 
to  their  belief.  Then,  and  then  only,  will  they  be  able  to  lead  the  people 
in  the  path  of  modern  civi]' nation,  which  was  open  to  mankind  through  the 
triumph  of  human  reason  over  papal  tradition. 


NOTE  D. 

The  work  of  Rosmini,  "  Le  cinque  piaghe  della  Chiesa,"  in  which  the 
wounds  of  the  church  are  typified  by  those  of  Christ  on  the  cross,  is  an 
important  production,  not  only  for  its  subject,  but  also  for  the  name  of  its 
writer  and  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  published.  No  man  has 
done  so  much  for  the  interests  of  the  papacy  as  Rosmini.  A  priest,  a  theolo- 
gian, a  philosopher,  and  the  founder  of  a  religious  order,  he  may  be  consid- 
ered as  one  of  the  greatest  luminaries  which  have  ever  adorned  the  church. 
Although  his  philosophical  principles,  if  logically  followed,  would  have  led 
him  to  renounce  his  allegiance  to  the  papal  sovereignty,  his  theological 
system  checked  the  flight  of  his  genius,  and  caused  him  to  sacrifice  his 
rational  theories  to  his  religious  tenets,  for  the  support  of  an  authority 
which  is  the  antithesis  of  all  rationality.  In  Rosmini  we  must  distinguish 


NOTES.  101 

two  individualities,  the  priest  and  the  philosopher ;  the  one  humble,  submis- 
sive, obedient,  and  self-sacrificing;  the  other  self-reliant,  bold,  and  inde- 
pendent. While  the  one  recognized  the  supremacy  of  the  individual  mind, 
made  rational  by  the  innate  and  immanent  presence  of  an  absolute,  objective, 
immutable,  and  universal  truth,  the  infallible  criterion  of  knowledge,  and 
the  supreme  rule  of  action,  the  other  bowed  submissively  to  the  claims  of  the 
papal  institution,  which  he  believed  of  an  equally  divine  origin.  With  him  this 
submission  was  the  effect  of  his  genuine  piety,  not  the  result  of  habit,  inter- 
est, ignorance,  scepticism,  or  mental  lethargy,  which  so  often  combine  to  de- 
prive men  of  all  moral  courage,  and  to  hold  them  in  false  positions.  He  was, 
however,  too  philosophical  to  close  his  eyes  to  the  abuses  of  the  church, 
and  too  religious  not  to  desire  their  removal.  In  1832  he  prepared  the  work 
alluded  to,  which,  although  strictly  orthodox,  and  written  in  a  meek  and 
loving  spirit,  he  was  unable  to  publish  until  the  accession  of  Pius  IX., 
whom  he  regarded  as  destined  "to  renovate  both  the  age  and  the  church." 
He  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  liberal  movement  at  first  headed  by  the  pres- 
ent pope,  and  he  was  sent  by  Charles  Albert  ambassador  to  Rome  to  establish 
the  basis  of  a  confederacy  among  the  Italian  princes.  He  had  nearly  accom- 
plished his  mission,  and  had  been  named  to  the  cardinalate,  when  Pius  IX., 
obliged  by  the  necessity  of  his  position  to  retrace  the  steps  which  he  had 
taken  in  the  path  of  reform,  fled  to  Gaeta,  whither  Rosmini  followed  him. 
But  he  soon  found  the  futility  of  all  efforts  to  infuse  new  life  into  an  insti- 
tution which  claims  absolute  power  from  God,  and  to  be  irresponsible  to 
men.  He  fell  into  disgrace,  was  arrested,  and  sent  to  Naples  under  mili- 
tary escort ;  he  was  then  exiled  from  southern  Italy,  while  his  book  on  the 
wounds  of  the  church  was  condemned. 

The  five  wounds  of  the  church,  according  to  Rosmini,  are,  1st,  the  sep- 
aration of  the  priesthood  from  the  people;  2d,  the  ignorance  of  the 
priests ;  3d,  the  transformation  of  the  bishops  into  feudal  lords,  divided 
among  themselves,  striving  for  wealth  and  power,  and  holding  a  despotic 
sway  over  the  low  clergy;  4th,  the  nomination  of  bishops  abandoned  to  lay 
power,  a  necessary  effect  of  the  church  having  become  a  "terrestrial  do- 
minion;" 5th,  the  control  of  ecclesiastical  property  by  the  state,  the 
inevitable  result  of  its  feudal  tenure.  To  remedy  these  evils,  Rosmini  pro- 
poses, 1st,  that  the  wall  of  separation  existing  between  the  priesthood  and 
the  people  should  be  removed,  and  that  the  use  of  a  dead  language  in  divine 
service,  which  renders  the  people  utterly  deaf  to  the  words  addressed  to 
them  by  the  mother  church,  should  be  abandoned ;  2d,  that  the  standard 
of  priestly  education  should  be  raised  in  accordance  with  the  requirements 
of  the  age ;  3d,  that  the  bishops  should  return  to  their  primitive  organiza- 
tion, disentangle  themselves  from  political  parties  and  feudal  pretensions, 


102  NOTES. 

and  strive  to  make  the  episcopate  an  object  of  attraction  for  pious  and  en- 
lightened men,  and  not  for  worldly  intriguers  as  it  is  at  present ;  4th,  that 
the  elections  of  bishops  and  the  administration  of  the  church  should  be 
restored  to  the  clergy  and  the  people,  to  whom  they  originally  belonged, 
and  that  the  bishops  and  priests,  ceasing  to  confine  themselves  to  the  for- 
malities and  shows  of  worship  should  become  again  the  confidants,  the 
friends,  and  the  fathers  of  the  faithful ;  5th,  that  the  clergy  should  return 
to  the  spontaneous  contributions  of  the  people,  as  the  only  proper  means  of 
sustaining  ecclesiastical  establishments. 

Had  Rosmini  traced  the  evils  of  the  church  to  their  legitimate  origin,  he 
would  have  found  that  they  arose  from  the  very  nature  of  the  papacy,  and 
that  the  reforms  he  proposed  could  only  be  accepted  by  accepting  the 
principle  of  the  Reformation,  which,  destroying  the  papal  sovereignty, 
has  restored  to  the  clergy  and  the  laity  their  personal  responsibility,  and 
rendered  ecclesiastical  institutions  capable  of  progress.  The  condemna- 
tion of  the  book  of  Rosmini  affords  another  evidence  of  the  utter  im- 
possibility of  introducing  reform  into  the  papal  system.  He  himself 
seems  to  have  admitted  this  impossibility,  when,  complying  with  the  first 
duty  of  a  believer  in  the  church,  he  submitted  to  the  papal  sentence,  and 
disavowed  all  that  was  condemned  in  his  work.  Assuming  that  the 
papacy  was  the  foundation  of  the  Catholic  church,  and  that  this  alone  was 
the  church  of  Christ,  he  could  not  do  otherwise  than  submit.  Those  who 
condemn  his  submission  are  either  unacquainted  with  the  requirements  of 
the  papal  church,  or  disregard  the  duty  of  consistency.  Between  Ros- 
mini, who  humbly  bows  to  the  papal  authority,  and  Lamennais,  who  openly 
rebels  against  it,  there  is  no  course  which  a  logical  mind  can  accept. 
However  we  may  deplore  the  humiliation  to  which  Rosmini  was  subjected 
by  his  religious  faith,  his  transcendent  merit  cannot  be  denied.  We  close 
these  remarks  with  the  following  passage,  through  which  we  first  presented 
his  name  to  American  scholars: 

"  It  may  be  allowed  to  the  writer  of  this  paper  to  introduce  to  the  ac- 
quaintance of  American  readers  the  venerated  name  of  this  great  philoso- 
pher, a  name  which  recalls  to  his  mind  the  sweetest  recollections  of  his 
life,  and  excites  in  his  heart  the  deepest  grief  for  his  untimely  death, 
which  deprived  Italy  of  one  of  her  noblest  sons,  and  science  of  one  of  its 
most  gifted  devotees.  Devoted  as  a  priest,  refined  as  a  scholar,  sound  as  a 
statesman,  sublime  as  a  thinker,  humble  as  a  Christian,  and  bold  as  a  phi- 
losopher, Rosmini  united  in  himself  in  a  high  degree  many  qualities,  any  of 
which  would  be  sufficient  to  convey  to  posterity  the  name  of  its  possessor. 
The  acuteness  and  breadth  of  his  mind  were  only  equalled  by  the  extent  of 
his  learning,  and  by  the  refinement  of  his  taste.  With  the  synthetic  power 


NOTES.  103 

of  Dante,  and  with  the  analytical  faculties  of  Thomas  Aquinas,  his  mind 
embraced  all  human  knowledge  in  its  unity  and  universality,  with  the 
view  of  erecting  a  philosophical  encyclopaedia  which  was  to  he  derived 
from  one  principle  and  divided  into  different  branches,  according  to  their 
logical  order.  Of  this  encyclopedia  he  published  some  twenty  volumes,  in 
which  science  is  founded  on  a  new  and  immovable  basis,  and  developed 
with  such  a  deep,  broad,  and  original  survey,  that  few  philosophers,  either 
in  ancient  or  modern  times,  can  be  compared  to  him  in  this  respect.  In 
his  religious  feelings,  though  a  sincere  believer  and  enlightened  apostle  of 
the  Catholic  church,  in  which  he  was  born  and  educated,  yet  he  did  not 
approve,  nay  openly  condemned  the  excesses  of  the  clergy,  and  whatever 
abuses  he  might  have  found  in  the  church.  Hence  the  severe  trials  to 
which  he  was  submitted  under  the  influence  of  extreme  parties  of  both 
sides.  But  the  strictness  of  Rosmini's  life,  and  the  holy  charity  with  which 
he  was  endowed,  secured  him  the  blessedness  which  arises  from  the 
contemplation  of  truth  and  the  practice  of  benevolence.  Tolerant  of  all 
opinions,  and  respectful  to  all  men,  though  dissenting  from  him,  despising 
all  honors  which  the  world  could  bestow  upon  him,  giving  up  to  charitable 
objects  the  large  fortune  which  he  had  inherited  from  his  family,  Rosmini 
showed  himself  a  true  follower  of  him,  in  the  faith  of  whom  he  lived  and 
died.  He  ended  his  life  in  1855,  at  Stresa,  on  the  Lago  Maggiore,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-eight  years."  See  "  An  account  of  the  system  of  education 
and  of  the  institutions  of  science  and  art  in  the  kingdom  of  Sardinia. 
By  VIXCENZO  BOTTA,  Hartford,  1858. 


NOTE  E. 

The  following  extract  from  Macaulay,  whose  independent  character  and 
liberal  views  give  great  weight  to  his  authority  on  this  subject,  illustrates 
the  bearing  of  the  principle  of  the  Reformation,  although  but  imperfectly 
developed,  on  the  progress  of  nations  : 

"  The  Protestant  boasts,  and  most  justly,  that  wealth,  civilization,  and 
intelligence  have  increased  far  more  on  the  northern  than  on  the  southern 
side  of  the  geographical  boundary  which  runs  between  the  two  religions; 
that  countries  so  little  favored  by  nature  as  Scotland  and  Prussia  are  now 
among  the  most  flourishing  and  best  governed  portions  of  the  world,  while 
banditti  infest  the  beautiful  shores  of  Campagna,  and  the  fertile  sea-coast  of 
the  pontifical  states  is  abandoned  to  buffaloes  and  wild  boars.  It  cannot  be 
doubted  that  since  the  16th  century  the  Protestant  nations,  fair  allowance 


104  NOTES. 

being  made  for  physical  disadvantages,  have  made  decidedly  greater  prog- 
ress than  their  neighbors.  The  progress  made  by  those  nations  in  which 
Protestantism,  though  not  finally  successful,  yet  maintained  a  long  strug- 
gle and  left  permanent  traces,  has  generally  been  considerable.  When  we 
come  to  the  Catholic  land,  to  the  part  of  Europe  in  which  the  first  spark  of 
Reformation  was  trodden  out  as  soon  as  it  appeared,  and  from  which  pro- 
ceeded the  impulse  which  drove  Protestantism  back,  we  find,  at  best,  a  very 
slow  progress,  and  on  the  whole  a  retrogression.  Compare  Denmark  and 
Portugal.  "When  Luther  began  to  preach,  the  superiority  of  the  Portu- 
guese was  unquestionable ;  at  present,  the  superiority  of  the  Danes  is  no 
less  so.  Compare  Edinburgh  and  Florence.  Edinburgh  has  owed  less  to 
climate,  to  soil,  and  to  the  fostering  care  of  rulers,  than  any  capital, 
Protestant  or  Catholic.  In  all  these  respects,  Florence  has  been  singularly 
happy.  Yet  whoever  knows  what  Florence  and  Edinburgh  were  in  the 
generation  preceding  the  Reformation,  and  what  they  are  now,  will  ac- 
knowledge that  some  great  cause  has,  during  the  last  three  centuries, 
operated  to  raise  one  part  of  the  European  family,  or  to  depress  the  other. 
Compare  the  history  of  England  and  that  of  Spain  during  the  last  century. 
In  arms,  arts,  sciences,  letters,  commerce,  agriculture,  the  contrast  is  most 
striking.  The  distinction  is  not  confined  to  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  The 
colonies  planted  by  England  in  America  have  immeasurably  outgrown  in 
power  those  planted  by  Spain.  Yet  we  have  no  reason  to  believe  that  at  the 
beginning  of  the  16th  century  the  Castilian  was  in  any  respect  inferior  to 
the  Englishman.  Our  firm  belief  is,  that  the  north  owes  its  great  civiliza- 
tion and  prosperity  chiefly  to  the  moral  effect  of  the  Protestant  Reforma- 
tion; and  that  the  decay  of  the  southern  countries  of  Europe  is  to  be 
mainly  ascribed  to  the  great  Catholic  revival."  See  Macaulay  "  On  Ranked 
History  of  the  Popes" 


NOTE  F. 

The  following  passage  from  the  Divine  Comedy,  Purgatorio,  Canto 
XXXIII.,  where  Beatrice  foretells  to  Dante  the  advent  of  a  military  leader, 
the  one  sent  from  God,  who  shall  redeem  the  country,  and  slay  loth  the  foul 
one  (the  papacy),  and  the  giant,  the  accomplice  of  her  guilt  (the  foreign 
power  which  conspired  with  the  popes  against  national  unity),  refers  with 
greater  propriety  to  Victor  Emmanuel,  the  representative  of  the  Italian 
people,  than  to  Can  della  Scala  or  any  of  those  ancient  chiefs  to  whom  the  in- 
terpreters of  the  poem  apply  it.  It  is  probable  that  Dante,  in  this  and  other 
similar  passages,  did  not  intend  to  designate  any  particular  leader,  but  that 


NOTES.  105 

he  only  gave  expression  to  that  patriotic  faith  which  caused  him  to  be- 
lieve that  some  Italian  prince  would  in  future  arise  and  become  the  de- 
liverer of  the  nation.  However  this  may  be,  the  application  of  the  follow- 
ing- prophecy  of  Beatrice  to  the  first  king  of  Italy  seems  fully  justified: 

"  Ch'  io  veggio  certarnente,  e  pero  '1  narro, 
A  darne  tempo  gia  stelle  propinque, 
Sicuro  d'  ogni  intoppo  e  d'  ogni  sbarro ; 
Nel  quale  un  cinquecento  dieci  e  cinque, 
Messo  di  Dio,  ancidera  la  fuja, 
E  quel  gigante  che  con  lei  delinque. 

Tu  nota ;  e  si  come  da  me  son  porte 
Queste  parole,  si  le  '  nsegna  a'  vivi 
Del  viver  ch'  e  un  correre  alia  morte." 


CONCLUDING  NOTE. 

The  January  number  of  the  "  Eivista  Contemporanea,"  of  Turin,  1862, 
received  since  this  discourse  has  been  in  press,  contains  a  series  of  Cavour's 
letters  now  for  the  first  time  published.  These  letters  were  mostly 
addressed  to  his  friend  Kattazzi,  and  are  particularly  interesting,  as  illus- 
trating the  personal  and  political  character  of  the  writer.  Among  them, 
those  written  during  the  Congress  of  Paris,  1856,  relate  to  his  private 
discussions  of  the  Italian  question  with  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  Lord 
Clarendon,  and  the  leading  statesmen  of  the  day,  and  prove  that  it  was 
chiefly  due  to  the  firm  and  bold  position  taken  by  Cavour  that  those  diplo- 
mats admitted  at  last,  the  necessity  of  a  war  against  Austria ;  that  England 
gave  to  Italy  her  moral  support,  and  the  Emperor  decided  to  take  an  active 
part  in  the  struggle.  Of  Napoleon,  Cavour  speaks  as  follows  : — "  He 
fully  sympathizes  with  Italy ;  and  whenever  he  sees  a  necessity  for  decisive 
measures,  he  will  act  with  that  energy  which  so  distinguishes  his  character. 
He  is  not  opposed  to  the  war ;  on  the  contrary,  he  longs  for  it  with  all  his 
heart."  From  these  letters  it  appears  also  that  Cavour  identified  the  cause  of 
the  pope  with  that  of  Austria,  and  that  in  his  mind  the  fate  of  the  one  was 
entirely  connected  with  that  of  the  other.  "  If  we  put  ourselves  in  direct 
relation  with  Rome,"  says  he,  "we  shall  completely  ruin  the  whole  edifice 
which  we  have  so  ardently  striven  to  rear.  We  cannot  preserve  our  influ- 
ence in  Italy,  if  we  reconcile  ourselves  with  the  pontiff.  We  must  fight 
Austria  in  Bologna  and  Rome,  as  well  as  in  Venice  and  Milan." 

For  the  institutions  of  the  United  States,  Cavour  had  the  highest  admi- 


106  NOTES. 

ration  ;  and  while  the  statesmen  of  England  have  so  signally  failed  to 
appreciate  the  true  issue  of  the  contest  which  has  menaced  the  national 
existence  of  a  great  people  allied  to  the  English  nation  by  race  and 
language,  he  from  the  beginning  expressed  an  intelligent  sympathy  for  the 
free  States,  in  their  present  contest  for  constitutional  liberty  and  nation- 
ality. This  brief  tribute  to  his  memory  could  not  be  more  properly 
concluded  than  by  quoting  the  following  extract  from  his  last  despatch 
addressed  to  Chevalier  Bertinatti,  the  minister  of  Italy  at  Washington,  on 
the  22d  of  May,  1861,  only  a  few  days  before  his  death:— 

"  You  will  continue  to  hold  with  the  legal  government  of  the  federal 
union,  those  friendly  relations  to  which  they  have  acquired  a  new  title  by 
their  prompt  and  generous  recognition  of  the  kingdom  of  Italy.  At  the 
same  time  you  will  maintain  a  strict  reserve  toward  the  parties  which 
divide  the  confederation.  But  this  reserve,  Monsieur  le  Chevalier,  will 
not  prevent  us  from  manifesting  our  sympathies  for  the  triumph  of  the 
Northern  States ;  for  their  cause  is  the  cause  not  only  of  constitutional 
liberty,  but  of  all  humanity.  Christian  Europe  cannot  wish  success  to  a 
party  which  bears  on  its  standard  the  preservation  and  extension  of 
slavery,  and  which,  re-establishing  letters  of  marque  and  privateering,  calls 
into  its  service  a  principle  condemned  alike  by  human  conscience  and 
modern  civilization.  Our  most  sincere  and  ardent  wish  would  be  for  an 
honorable  agreement,  which,  reuniting  the  States  momentarily  separated, 
should  extinguish  the  torch  of  civil  war  in  a  country,  whose  liberty  and 
prosperity  formed  but  now  the  admiration  of  the  whole  world." 

CAVOUR. 


COKRESPONDENCE.  107 


To  complete  the  present  publication  the  following  correspon- 
dence in  reference  to  it  is  subjoined: 

NEW  YORK,  February  10th,  1862. 

PKOFESSOB  BOTTA  :  —  Dear  Sir  :  Understanding  that  you  have  prepared  a 
discourse  on  the  life  and  policy  of  the  late  Count  Cavour,  it  would  gratify 
the  undersigned,  as  well  as  many  others  among  your  fellow-citizens,  if  you 
would  give  them  an  opportunity  of  hearing  it,  and  testifying  their  respect 
for  the  memory  of  the  great  statesman  of  Italy,  whose  name  has  become 
identified  with  the  cause  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  We  are  very 
respectfully  yours, 

GEOEGE  OPDYKE  (Mayor  of  the  city  of  New  York). 
LUTHER  BEADISH  (President  of  the  Historical  Society). 

F.  DE  PEYSTER  (  Vice-  President  of  the  Historical  Society). 

G.  H.  MOORE  (Librarian  of  the  Historical  Society). 
OH.  KING  (President  of  the  Columbia  College). 

ISAAC  FERRIS  (Chancellor  of  the  University  of  New  York). 

HORACE  WEBSTER  (Principal  of  the  Free  Academy). 

FRANCIS  LIEBER  (Professor  in  the  Columbia  College,  and  correspond- 

ing Member  of  the  Institute  of  France). 
GEORGE  BANCROFT.  W.  0.  BRYANT. 

GEORGE  FOLSOM.  CH.  BUTLER. 

SAMUEL  F.  B.  MORSE.  HENRY  T.  TUCKERMAN. 

JAMES  W.  BEEKMAN. 

PROFESSOR  BOTTA'S  REPLY. 


YORK,  February  17th,  1862. 
GENTLEMEN  :  —  I  am  honored  and  gratified  in  receiving  your  invitation  to 
deliver  a  discourse  commemorative  of  the  great  statesman  to  whom  my 
country  is  chiefly  indebted  for  its  national  existence,  and  whose  achieve- 
ments form  so  brilliant  an  episode  in  contemporary  history.     I  shall  be 
most  happy  to  comply  with  your  request. 
I  am,  with  great  respect, 

Your  obedient  servant,  V.  BOTTA. 

To   the  Hon.    GEORGE  OPDYKE,   Mayor   of  the   city   of  New  York,  and 
others. 


108  RESOLUTIONS. 

At  the  close  of  the  discourse,  the  following  resolutions  offered 
by  Kev.  J.  P.  Thompson,  D.  D.  were  unanimously  adopted : 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  meeting  be  tendered  to  Professor 
Vincenzo  Botta,  for  his  instructive  and  discriminating  discourse  upon  the 
character  and  services  of  Count  Cavour,  and  that,  in  view  of  its  permanent 
historical  interest  and  value,  he  be  requested  to  prepare  the  same  for  the 
press  in  the  English,  French,  and  Italian  tongues. 

Resolved,  That  the  disinterested  patriotism,  the  enlightened  statesman- 
ship, the  earnest  and  consistent  devotion  to  civil  and  religious  liberty,  that 
marked  the  career  of  Count  Cavour,  place  him  among  the  noblest  champ- 
ions of  political  freedom,  and  of  social  progress,  order,  and  virtue,  through 
constitutional  law ;  and  that  his  rare  administrative  capacity  exercised  for 
these  ends,  entitles  him  to  the  praise  of  the  regenerator  of  Italy. 

Resolved,  That,  as  the  name  of  this  moral  leader  in  the  development  of 
the  free  and  enlightened  nationality  of  Italy  belongs  not  to  his  country 
only,  but  to  mankind,  we  claim  a  fraternal  inheritance  with  the  Italian 
nation  in  the  memory  of  Cavour,  and  will  gladly  unite  with  them  in  an 
appropriate  monument  to  his  fame. 

Resolved,  That  while  our  own  experience  is  teaching  us  anew,  that  the 
stability  of  free  institutions  demands  the  political  and  moral  unity  of  a 
nation  geographically  and  historically  one,  we  desire  the  more  earnestly 
the  perfecting  of  that  Italian  unity  which  the  genius  and  sagacity  of 
Cavour  so  happily  inaugurated. 

Resolved,  That  since  the  preservation  of  national  unity  under  free  insti- 
tutions demands  the  removal  of  whatever  system  or  policy  is  antagonistic 
to  the  rights  of  person  or  of  conscience,  the  Italian  government  and  nation 
will  have  our  earnest  moral  support  in  their  endeavors  to  terminate  all 
foreign  dominion  and  all  politico-ecclesiastical  government  upon  their  soil, 
and  to  bring  the  entire  population  of  Italy  under  a  constitution  of  perfect 
civil  and  religious  freedom. 

This  discourse  was  by  request  repeated  before  the  New  York 
Athenaeum  Association,  March  12,  and  before  the  Boston 
Young  Men's  Association  on  the  19th  of  the  same  month, 
1862. 


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